Blood of the Covenant
by lozlol
Summary: If she had managed to disguise them from the Snatchers Hermione's identity would never have changed: she would have gone on living a lie; but she wouldn't be hated by her two best friends; she wouldn't be the Dark Lord's daughter; she wouldn't be tied to Draco Malfoy.
1. Part I: Chapter 1

_**Apart from anything mentioned anything before the events at Malfoy Manor in the Deathly Hallows has happened, and I moved the Gringott's robbery of Bellatrix's vault to just before this instead of after.**_

 _ **Part I**_

 _ **Chapter I:**_

 _ **March 1998**_

Wild insanity dancing in her eyes, a witch with black hair more uncontrollable than Hermione's had ever been flounced into the room. On her face, she wore a gleeful grin and her sleeve was pulled up ready to press the mark on her arm, but when she spotted Hermione tied down to the chair, for some reason the expression slipped. She glided across the room and bent down, hands on the chair arms, her face pressed close to Hermione's, inspecting her. The teenager struggled not to scrunch up her eyes or lean away: not to show any sign of fear; but what she was most frightened of was screaming. Bellatrix Lestrange was mad. She hated Muggleborns. This was going to be hell. But she couldn't distract Harry and Ron down below in the basement of Malfoy Manor. If they heard her scream they would stop everything and panic, as would she if it were them. They had to be coming up with a plan- they were coming up with a plan. She just had to have faith. And stay quiet. Bellatrix pulled away, taking Narcissa's arm and yanking her to the other side of the room. The two sisters whispered in hushed tones as Hermione glanced at a stoic Malfoy in confusion. He'd refused to identify them. Maybe they were unwilling to call You-Know-Who without being certain. But surely Bellatrix could smell the mud she reeked of from miles off, or whatever it was these blinded-by-their-bigotry Purebloods said was wrong with her DNA. The blonde sent her sister out of the room and then approached Hermione herself. She gritted her teeth, ready for Crucio or Imperius but instead Narcissa whispered a spell she didn't know and, yanking up Hermione's sleeve, prodded the tip of her wand into the skin there. Hermione let out a, more surprised than pained, gasp before she could stop herself, watching the blood drip down her arm in the same spot she'd had jabs as a child. Except this time the nurse didn't cover the prick up with a plaster or offer her a biscuit and a glass of fruit juice to get her blood sugar back up. Bellatrix apparated back into the room, now holding a wooden box with intricate carvings. Handling it gently as though it were a precious child, the Azkaban escapee opened the lid and surveyed the contents, ultimately taking out what looked like a posy of hair, wrapped in a pink ribbon. She wasn't sure whether she was comforted or unnerved by the fact that Malfoy and his father seemed just as confused as her, although as the women worked with the blood and the hair a look of realisation seemed to dawn on the patriarch's face. At last, the blood was added to the potion and Narcissa whispered something under her breath. It glowed gold. Bellatrix let out a stunned, shaky breath, turning to Hermione once more. She raced across the room and this time Hermione couldn't stop herself cringing away from the anticipated physical and mental torture- which turned out to be an all-engulfing embrace.

"Oh my dear, oh my darling," whispered Bellatrix, her voice broken by tears, as she ran her fingers through a terrified Hermione's hair, burying her face momentarily in it before pulling back, vibrant hope bouncing around her eyes. Unable to look away until the spell was broken by Malfoy's protests of "Aunt Bella what are you doing?" Hermione then saw the smiling Malfoy couple over Bellatrix's shoulder. Narcissa nudged Lucius and he nodded, casting her one last look before leaving the room, pulling up his sleeve as he went. That was like a bucket of cold water over the head. She had to get out. Luckily, Bellatrix was fumbling over the knots tying her down, in her frenzied emotional state seemingly forgetting that she was a witch. Narcissa pointed her wand at them and they came away quickly. Hermione took a moment to consider if this was a trap, determined that of course it was a trap, but why couldn't it be an opportunity too? Unfortunately, all attention was currently on her, and the bewilderment flooding her mind was taking up all the space in there.

"What is going on?" She asked, praying that maybe if things were cleared up she'd be able to actually think and formulate a plan to get her and the boys out.

Bellatrix smiled, a real genuine smile not dripping with malice or dark glee but love. "Amara," she clutched Hermione's hand in a tight grip. "I'm your mother."

* * *

When Hermione came to she was lying on a fluffy mattress a million times more comfortable than the straight backed wooden chair, but as soon as her eyes flickered open she felt just as trapped. Hovering above her was the face of the woman she'd been sure would despise her, but instead claimed to be her closest relative. Bellatrix was pressing something damp onto her forehead, doing something under her breath- her lips were moving. "What are you doing?" Hermione questioned weakly, trying to squirm away.

Apparently glad that she was awake, Bellatrix smiled down benignly. "Singing the lullaby that would always calm you when you were a baby." She gestured to the bowl beside her that she was dipping the cloth into. "And this is a Black family remedy," she glanced back to her sister, who was quietly explaining to Malfoy, who looked even paler than Hermione felt. Isn't it Ciss-?"

"Stop it!" Hermione shrieked, finding her voice once again as she pushed the arm away from her and tried to get out of the layers and layers of duvet. "Get away from me you heinous bitch!" The sting seemed to send Bellatrix visibly rocking backwards. "We're not family. And you are certainly not my mother. My mother is Jean Granger, and my father is Richard Granger. I sent them away with new identities to protect them from the likes of you!" She was practically spitting with disgust, evoking more horror from the woman beside her bed than if she'd suddenly transformed into a two headed dog.

"Darling-" Bellatrix tried, but her sister put a hand on her shoulder, telling her to give the younger witch some time. She was left in the emptiness of the gorgeous, luxurious room. Voldemort's pet Death Eater's daughter... She shook her head. It was ridiculous. Bellatrix had probably been in the middle of some spell when she'd said she was singing. As if that monster knew how to calm children. She'd been in Bellatrix's skin when they'd gone to her vault. It had felt wrong. She refused to believe it.

Hermione edged out of the bed, pausing to peer inside the box Bellatrix had produced earlier. There was a pair of little shoes, a green rattle with a silver snake painted along the handle, a cuddly teddy bear, and a stack of magical moving photos, all frayed from a lot of handling. The one on top displayed Bellatrix in a bed holding a swaddle of blankets with a tiny face peering out. She looked as happy as she had earlier as she grinned up at the man sitting on the bed beside her, he smiling as his gaze flickered between her and the infant. Hermione flocked through the rest of the photos, pausing when she got to one of a toddler pulling on the man from the first photo's ears delightedly. That was absolutely and undeniably her. She'd never questioned why her photo albums back at home started from when she was two years old, it had genuinely never bothered her. Now though, alarm bells were ringing in her head.

"...want to see her..." she heard footsteps outside the door and froze. The footfall stopped as well, halted by Lucius's voice.

"Give her time," he advised. "She didn't even want to see Bella, there's no chance she'll be comfortable with you." The footsteps faded away as she hurried to the door, trying to keep hearing them. Who was that? Her hand rested on the ornate curling snake doorknob and with a sharp intake of breath she twisted it. _And it opened._ _They hadn't locked her in._ Okay, she needed to think. She didn't know her way around the manor- she'd been asleep when she'd been brought up here, but if she was careful and silent she could get down to the boys and the three of them could escape. Was that her father? No- Bellatrix wasn't even her mother. The Grangers were her family. But the facts pointed to the opposite, and she'd always been a follower of the facts. Her mind was too busy buzzing to plan an escape, and then it was too late.

"Having a fit Gra-Amara?" She glanced up to see Malfoy lounging in the door frame a few feet away. The names seamlessly faded together as if these two identities both fit her just as well as each other.

"That's not my name," she hissed.

He shrugged. "Technically it is, but whatever keeps your knickers untwisted." He eyed her pose, half in and half out the door. "Doing a runner?"

"If I am, am I supposed to believe you'd care?" Looking at this boy who'd taunted her for her so-called inferior status since they were eleven years old, the boy she'd slapped across the face third year for his childish malevolence, she chuckled with genuine amusement. "What, Malfoy, now that my blood is supposedly pure we're besties? Everything you ever said to me is void?"

"A) not at all. My reasons for hating you extended to your obnoxious smart-arse behaviour as well as your blood type, which I'm sure shall continue and so surely will my disdain," he assured her. "B) There's nothing 'supposed' about your blood type. The test proved it. And believe me, I'm the last person who wants to believe it's so, but you _are_ their lost daughter." She was about to dispute it, but the evidence kept coming to her mind. Eyebrow raised, he gestured to the photo she hadn't realised she was still clutching. "Blood is thicker than water."

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," she corrected him immediately.

"Touché," was that an impressed look on his face? "But for us, the covenant is family."

She bit her lip. "Even if it is true, so what? They got tired of having a baby and threw me into the pile of used rubbish."

He scoffed. "You really know nothing." She'd been about to protest that this was fairly recent news to her so she couldn't be expected to know every aspect of what had happened before he continued, "your parents loved you. One night when you were a toddler there was an attack by the Order at their house. They were downstairs while you were in the nursery, so they raced to stop the attackers, but unbeknownst to them, the Order weren't there to kill them. They'd heard rumours about a baby, and a second group snuck upstairs. By the time they left and your parents went to check on you there was only an empty crib. They sobbed and they raged. Your mother, her husband, his brother and Barty Crouch Jr went to the home of one of the Order members who was at the forefront of the attack, so she naturally blamed him, although if she hadn't been caught I'm sure she would have made a stop at every last one of their residences. She Crucio'd him and his wife into literal insanity." _Neville's parents._ But they were members of the Light, not kidnappers. They'd been innocents, doomed to live out the rest of their days in St Mungo's, leaving their son an orphan with only his grandmother to care for him. Seeing her expression, Malfoy said, "Every story has two sides." Usually, so did every proverb, but she couldn't think of a witty retort to this one. He was right. "After my aunt and the others were imprisoned your father became even more enraged. His insider Pettigrew had spilled the Potters' secrets and, mind taken over by vengeance, he didn't think things through." Her heart froze in belated realisation. "He went there alone to pursue his own personal vendetta, to kill a child of the Light so they could feel what he did. But the martyrs were determined to die, practically killing the Dark Lord in the process, and worst of all, the target survived." _No, no, no._ Bellatrix, fine, she would admit that truth to herself, awful as it was. But this was too much. This was not true. This was-

The two teenagers both turned to face the tall, thin, chalk white skeletal figure in the dark cloak. His red eyes latched onto her just like Bellatrix's had and his skull like face seemed to soften, though it still seemed just as monstrous to Hermione. She looked down to the photo in her hand: her curly hair and nose; his dark eyes and eyebrows. Her grip laxed and the photo fell down to the floor in a swirling hurricane, landing at the same time that she was jolted into the realisation. This was true.

 ** _Let me know what you think! Guests, please leave a name so I can respond in my AN. This story will eventually be Dark Hermione and similarly it will take a few chapters but the pairing will be primarily Dramione with some other couples later on. Some might consider it incest so if you are uncomfortable with that I have a couple of other Dramione stories where they share no blood whatsoever so feel free to read them instead!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2:**_

Once again, Hermione found her forehead being patted down with the Black family remedy by Bellatrix, who sat beside her on the sofa. Apparently it was her solution for everything. Across from her was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. The cozy decor and charmingly blazing fireplace was entirely out of place with the tension hanging between them. The tension typical, she supposed, of two people who had been fighting against each other and now found themselves to be father and daughter. "Amara-"

Before he could continue she cut in. "It's Hermione," Bellatrix's hand, travelling up to her face, momentarily paused and a few drops of water dripped onto the sofa, leaving a wet stain. "Before we go any further, my name is Hermione. For my whole life I've been the muggle daughter of two dentists. When I went to Hogwarts I found the people I belonged with, my best friends Ron Weasley," she took a breath. "And Harry Potter." Surveying the both of them, she said, "I refuse to compromise on who I've become. You should know, I am not Amara Riddle, not anymore."

Voldemort nodded solemnly. "Very well. You should know, I will not give up my revenge even though I now have you back."

She made a distressed noise, putting her hands in her head. "The Order have always treated me well, I-" she paused, thinking back to Rita Skeeter's rumours about her and Harry and how the Weasley family had shunned her like a slut defiling the golden boy they'd truly taken in as their own, to intrigued glances, not at the Muggleborn, but at the Dark Lord's daughter.

"If they knew who you were sweetheart," said Bellatrix. "I fear your friends wouldn't be so accommodating."

"Harry and Ron aren't like their parents," the raw conviction in her voice didn't stop them exchanging a look. "What if I went and told them now and they remained faithful to me? Would you let them go free?"

Voldemort couldn't refuse his newfound daughter's begging, so he nodded reluctantly. A beam came across her face, hopeful at the prospect of having everything, but her father stopped her. "Take Draco with you, at least," he pleaded. For the emotionless monster Dumbledore and the Order made him out to be, she could read intense fear that she'd be hurt physically or emotionally in that voice. Disliking that, she nodded brusquely, and hurried away to find the blond boy.

* * *

"There's no way they'll accept you," Malfoy scoffed as he turned the key in the lock that led down to the dungeon.

"Want to bet?"

"Sure," he outstretched a hand. "Five galleons."

"I wasn't being literal," she rolled her eyes. "I have no money."

He chuckled. "Sure you do. Your father is Minister for Magic in all but name, and he owes you eighteen years of pocket money." She laughed before she could help herself, then felt guilty. This was Draco freaking Malfoy after all. But she shook his outstretched hand and then they proceeded down the dark, dank spiralling stairway. At the bottom, she peered into the grey and whispered "Harry? Ron?"

"Mione!" Two faces emerged at the bars, desperate and worried. She raced towards them, heart full of longing for the friends that she knew and loved. They each gripped a hand of hers in greeting, and probably to check that she was real not some demon sent to taunt them in this endless void of a prison. "You're okay!" Exclaimed Harry in disbelief. "What happened to you? How did you escape?"

She jerked her head back towards her companion. "I didn't exactly escape."

Ron's face twisted into a snarl when he saw Malfoy. "Ferret-face, demoted to dementor now are you? You've got the looks for it."

Malfoy scowled. "Actually I'd say the Dark Lord trusts me more than ever if he's willing to place the safety of hi-"

Hermione shot him a look that plainly said STOP. She needed to be the one to tell them. She'd better get on with it though, before he did. "I've found out something about myself that stunned me, and I'm sure will shock you too, but nothing has to change, I mean, nothing important, not us." The boys had never been patient and they both looked very confused right now. Maybe it would be best to just tear off the plaster, let them digest it rather than lose them by rambling. "My parents aren't who I thought. My parents are Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort." The Gryffindors seemed unsure how to react, but Hermione let out a relieved sigh, thankful that there was nothing between them any longer. Apparently it had been the wrong choice.

"And you like that?" Said Harry, voice pained. "You like that your father killed my parents? That your mother drove Frank and Alice Longbottom mad?"

"Of course not!" Her head tilted to the side in confusion. "But we didn't know the whole story."

Harry's eyes widened in horror. "Are you really suggesting that there is any legitimate reason for killing or torturing?"

"Even if there was, your parents," Ron spat. "Didn't use it. They're a pair of rotten eggs, the both of them."

Hermione felt tears pricking at her eyes. This was worse than when Ron had said it made sense that she had no friends and Harry had laughed; worse than when Ron had made out with Lavender Brown in front of her and Harry had cheered him on; worse than when neither of them had treated her like a girl, and then proceeded to get jealous when she showed herself to be attractive and dating someone that was not them. "I'm not so sure that's true anymore. After all, both of your parents are the ones that kidnapped their daughter" As she finished her defence Ron launched towards her, hands outstretched, calling her hideous, jarring things. Malfoy raced forwards to pull her back at the same time that a tiny creature apparated into the cell, Harry grabbed on and her two school friends disappeared with Dobby the House Elf.

Her breath was shaky, her heart was thumping, her eyes were bleeding. "Granger, are you alright?" The genuine concern and pity in Malfoy's voice was worse than any other response he could have had in that moment. All it served to do was remind her how remarkably wrong this whole situation was. How quickly her life had flipped on its head so that the people she loved hated her; the ones who'd always protected her were now her captors; and the ones she'd thought were her captors were all she had left.

"Get out!" She let herself scream at last, only sinking to the floor in a broken heap when she heard his footsteps retreating back up the stairs.

 _ **AN: Thank you so much to all of you for reading and reviewing the first chapter, keep it coming!**_

 _ **Guest (11/04): Haha, thanks!**_

 _ **Pugmom87: Me too! She won't really get dark until the second part of the story but don't worry, it is coming.**_

 _ **Jenisha: When it's from her, Draco or Harry's**_ _ **point of view Hermione, but when it's Voldemort or Bellatrix, Amara. Here ya go!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3:**_

Whilst Amara went down to the dungeons, her biological parents spoke. Bellatrix had been in Azkaban for years and since she'd broken out neither of them had mentioned their daughter, though looking at each other only reminded them of the baby they'd lost. She might not have been made as the result of a loving marriage, but she was perfect. Bellatrix had long admired her master, and as the only female Death Eater he was impressed by her to a certain extent as well.

She'd been married to Rodolphus Lestrange but craved a night with a man she actually found attractive. Although Tom Riddle looked nothing like the striking dark-featured, youthful man he'd once had, his confidence was the hottest trait to Bellatrix. Masochist that she was, the pain resulting from betraying the betrothal contract actually enhanced the experience. When she'd become pregnant her husband had been pleased rather than jealous; his wife would be baring the heir of the Dark Lord. That was the problem with Rodolphus. Bellatrix had always been an insanely passionate person, but he was dull as a brick wall. He wasn't upset or angry about the affair, he just nodded. If she was going to be tied down to such a bore forever she was relieved that she would have someone else in her life as well. But she never could have predicted how attached she would become to the child. She'd never been a baby person like her stupid blood traitor sister Andromeda who'd married for love and settled down years ago, and the pregnancy had been awfully uncomfortable, but as soon as she'd seen those wide eyes, held those little fingers, rocked that feeble little body, she knew she'd do anything to protect her. She'd looked up at the Dark Lord and despite the unspoken assumption between them that he'd name her, she suggested Amara. It meant beloved. And indeed she was.

* * *

Dinner raced by in an endless flood of technicolour as Hermione stared blankly into the distance. She didn't eat any of the multiple gourmet courses served by the house elves. She didn't hear any of the polite, intermittent chatter. She didn't see any of the anxious glances her way. At the end of the meal though, she cleared her throat and said hoarsely, "I believe you. I know I'm your daughter now." She'd interrupted Voldemort's comment to Lucius on the fine cut of steak but for once the Dark Lord didn't protest against insolence. Instead a small smile tickled his barely there lips. And if he was showing that much joy then Bellatrix's grin might split her face. Hermione's stomach rumbled and she let out a defeated sigh, realising that she was starving. Blankly, she spiraled a mouthful of tagliatelle onto her fork, her parents' expressions rapidly deteriorating as they realised she wasn't ecstatic in this realisation. "It's not as if I have anywhere else to go anyway."

Voldemort reached across from his spot at the head of the table and told her, "we don't want this to be a prison to you Amara- Hermione," he corrected himself immediately. "If what would make you happy was returning to your friends then we would love for that the be possible, but the so-called Light has always been unbearably righteous about anything they decide is 'wrong'."

Bellatrix scowled. Her mind was full of hanging the beasts who'd hurt her daughter on their twisted moral high ground, but instead she controlled her emotion and simply said, "we will always stand by you and fight for you darling, whatever you want."

Hermione took a sip of the Superior Red made by the Malfoy Apothecary to steel herself. "You can call me Amara if it helps you," she said. "And I want to get to know you. But I will not fight against my friends with you, no matter how much they may hate me now." The five Slytherins around the table all looked at her in admiration of the fraternity quality they sought to emulate.

"Very well," said Voldemort. He'd been about to say something else when a familiar drawl came from the doorway.

"My Lor-Miss Granger!" A peculiar sense of pride that she'd managed to surprise the stoic Professor Snape came over her, the first slither of joy she'd felt since she'd reunited with the boys.

"Yes Severus, all shall be explained, but I have a task for you," said Voldemort, beckoning the potions master over.

* * *

Severus' double agent status had long meant loyalty to the Order. Partially because he believed they were in the right, largely because he knew it was what Lily would have wanted. Now both those reasons were shattered and his allegiance to them was as well. Kidnapping the Dark Lord's innocent daughter away from her family to be raised with muggles- it was awful. He knew he'd only turned to their side just around that time, but it still hurt to know that Lily hadn't told him, nor had Dumbledore ever, despite all his years of thankless loyalty. By the time he'd been told the truth his decision had been made, but the Order's response only cemented it to him. He was sent to tell them Hermione knew the truth and was with her family. Molly Weasley spoke first. "I knew it," She scowled. "I always told Albus this was a mistake. Bad apples are rotten to the core; it's pointless trying to pick them off the branch early, the damage has already been done." It didn't matter that he hadn't told them Hermione's feelings on this. Their minds were made up. She was the devil's spawn and she'd always been a hopeless case from the get-go. Well, Severus would never describe the tenacious Gryffindor using any of those words. He wouldn't give up on her like the rest of these adults who'd been 'saving her from the clutches of the Dark'. He was fully a Death Eater once again.

* * *

Hermione was, understandably, exhausted, so she went up to bed, leaving the Malfoys and her parents at the table. Draco watched her go and then when he knew she was out of hearing range he took a swig of his family made wine. "When will you tell her about the arrangement?"

"When she's ready", said Voldemort in a way that invited no further comment.

For a few moments everyone was silent. Draco tapped his fingers on the side of his glass. "I don't think she'll ever be ready."

Narcissa shook her head. "That's absurd. The two of you seem to be getting along rather well already, despite all those years of tension."

"There's a difference between 'getting along' and getting married," Draco pointed out. He took another swig and rolled his head back, trying to get rid of a buzzing spot in his head. "She'll never agree."

His aunt was quiet, seemingly in agreement, but the Dark Lord was adamant. "We must just give her some time. I think you two will make a greater pair than we ever even thought when we signed the contract." That contract. It had been the bane of his existence. He'd first found out about it when he'd told his mother about a girl at school he fancied. She'd been apologetic, but produced the contract. It meant that he could do whatever he liked with others until his first kiss with his betrothed, which in typical Pureblood arranged marriages would be at the ceremony. After that touching another in even an innocent romantic way would be painful to them both; they would be tied together. If there was one thing he knew about Granger it was that she refused to be tied down- especially by the likes of him.

 ** _Jenisha: Thanks! Not quite lol, she'll go dark when we get to Part 2 (Chapter 9), so not too long to wait! I'll probably be posting once or twice a week because of school and work. Hope you stick around anyway!_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4:**_

After the rollercoaster of the first two days as a new person Hermione hadn't realised how much sleep she'd missed out on: not just then but in the months previously whilst they'd been on the run. This feather bed was like a heavenly cloud compared to the rough ground she'd been sleeping on whilst on the run with the boys. She frowned; almost five seconds since waking up without thinking of their betrayal. Rolling out of bed, she picked up the skirts of the impractical night-dress Bellatrix had given her, although she supposed it wasn't as if she'd be getting into any more skirmishes with snatchers or dark wizards in the middle of the night any time soon. Stomach growling again, she decided to go find some breakfast.

The issue with that plan was that once she got outside her door she couldn't seem to orient herself. The hallway stretched on for what seemed like miles, and she wasn't sure she'd know where to go when she did find the stairs. The logical thing to do then was to get some help, and since no house elves seemed to be about she would have to try the doors. Knocking on each one, Hermione got no answer, until she lifted her fist a fifth time only to be stopped by the comment from behind her, "hunting for ghosts Granger?" Behind her was none other than Malfoy.

She shifted, uncomfortable to admit another weakness in front of him after the one he'd seen yesterday, even if this was completely understandable. "I'm... somewhat lost."

"Well that's ridiculous," she opened her mouth to protest, the tone he'd used every time he'd ever spoken her making her want to lash back immediately. "No-one's given you a tour yet? Where is the Malfoy hospitality that's always spoken of?"

She scoffed. "I'm not sure 'hospitable' is the first word that comes to mind when most people think of your family."

He wagged a finger. "Our dinner guests would have to dispute you on that. We throw an excellent party." She rolled her eyes but followed him anyway. "You should be glad I caught you when I did or you'd have been left banging on doors for hours. This corridor is all guest bedrooms," he explained. She did a double take, looking back down the corridor at all the rooms. There was enough to house the entire Weasley clan (including its honorary members) twice over. "And besides, it's mid-afternoon."

"Mid-afternoon!" She exclaimed. She'd never slept in that late. She was always up early. She had a routine. Shower. Brush teeth. Get dressed. Brush hair. Revise. Breakfast in the Great Hall with her friends or in the kitchen with her parents. 'Friends'. 'Parents'.

"And this is-" Malfoy paused, realising that she wasn't really listening. "Everything alright?"

She started to shake her head then nodded instead. "Just- can we start in the kitchen. I'm starving."

* * *

The kitchen was as tidy and speck-free as the rest of the house, at least it was before they arrived. Once they had, Malfoy proceeded to call for ingredients and bowls from the house elves and mix things, as he ordered her up onto the countertop, out of the way. She was too stunned to protest. "You cook?"

"Usually only on Mothering Sunday but I'll make an exception today." She watched as he made pancake mixture, pointing his wand at the refrigerator so that the batter magically didn't need to be left overnight and then pouring it into the pan and flipping it. "Every year my mother begs me to cook these more often, but it's something to look forward to in March," he said cockily, tipping the 'pancake' onto a plate. Seeing her unimpressed look at the shapeless unappetising lump, he sidestepped and tipped the contents into the bin. "The first one's always bollocks."

"You're a dab hand at this," She laughed as the second and third also ended up 'bollocks'. The lemon and sugar didn't coat them enough to disguise the taste. "Mummy's boy, much?"

"Wanker," he retaliated. "Next time I'll just get the house elves to bring you a bowl of cocoa puffs."

"Ooh cocoa puffs!" Hermione exhaled almost erotically, causing Malfoy to swat at her with a tea towel as she squealed with laughter.

* * *

After she'd been fed, Hermione promised she'd be an attentive listener on the tour, so Malfoy showed her around the rest of the manor. It was truly incredible, and certainly big- either that or the residents were avoiding her- as they didn't run into anyone else whatsoever. Once they'd processed all the way up to the top of the building where the family's large bedrooms, or perhaps she should call them chambers since they were made up of multiple fit-for-royalty rooms, Malfoy took her back downstairs again. Her confused queries about where they were going reaped no fruition, and it was only when they paused in front of the one room he'd breezed past that a curious smile lit up her features. The Ravenclaw in her had been shouting at the top of her lungs that they had to find out what was in there, but Hermione had hushed the voice, assuming it was something she wasn't meant to know so she should just stay out of it. Malfoy smirked, clearly reading her nervous excitement. "I saved the best till last." With a hand on each of the double doors, he pushed it open, as that Ravenclaw surfaced again, squealing in excitement. Within was a marvelous library with fantastic Greek columns and ornate staircases leading up to different levels where different genres were kept, each level with armchairs and ever-roaring fires. Hermione couldn't help but be reminded of the scene in the film adaptation of her favourite childhood book where Beast had shown Belle the library. Eleven year old Hermione had told her mother "that's what I want from my dream man!"

"Good luck with that honey," Jean Granger had laughed and tickled her. Now, Hermione smiled earnestly at Draco, surprised he knew her so well.

"You do know this was here already Granger?" He pointed out. "It's not like I got you a gold necklace."

"You can call me Hermione," she said, then backtracked when he said nothing in response. "Or Amara, or whatever. I just, uh, think it would upset you-know-who, and by that I mean both of them, if you kept calling me Granger."

When she'd stopped her rambling he gave her a knowing look. "Alright, Hermione. But only if you'll call me Draco." She could agree to that.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5:_**

Over burnt plates of food that they didn't even notice the tastelessness of, two boy wizards sat in silence, mulling over the events of the past week. Harry couldn't deny that he'd been hurt by the news of his best friend's true self, who wouldn't be? But as they'd had nothing but time to reflect with no plan for the immediate future, he'd started rethinking his reaction. Hermione had been his best friend for seven years, and she'd always had this hidden identity, she'd just never known. It wasn't as if she'd been purposefully hiding it from them. She'd been sorted into Gryffindor for a reason. Maybe nurture truly was stronger than nature. Harry had only begun to voice these thoughts when Ron practically leapt up from the log he'd been sitting on.

"No mate!" He cried. "Don't let her suck you in. It's in the blood I tell you, think of that maggot she's staying with. Remember you nearly befriended him in First Year until I stopped you, told you about his family. Aren't you glad now?"

"I s'pose-" Harry considered.

"And on the subject of Malfoy," Ron continued. "The two of them seemed awfully chummy after only a few hours. Either Hermione's been lying to us and she's known about this a long time or she really did just find out, but is clearly more than willing to make friends with her captors. And if that's how close she got to the crummy prick in a short amount of time, just think how great her relationship with her new father must be by now. I'll remind you, he's the one who's been systematically trying to bloody murder you at the end of every school year."

Harry bit his lip anxiously as Ron let out an exhausted-slash-frustrated huff. "You're right mate."

"A sentence that should be said more often," A pleased, albeit somewhat surprised, Ron remarked. "Now c'mon, let's hunt down and smash the last few pieces of that demon's soul."

* * *

Voldemort would be the first to admit that he was not a good man. Much as he sought revenge for his daughter, it was by no means his only motivation. Before she'd ever been born he'd sought wealth, power, immortality. He'd wanted it all. He still did. It was rumoured there was an object which could grant such power to him, though beyond that he had little information on it. He knew of its powers, that murder was necessary to claim ownership of it, but he had no idea who it was he should be murdering. That was why he was at the Malfoys' extensive library, which contained records of all kinds of magical information. He'd had fairly little contact with Amara so he was surprised to see he'd cuddled up in a chair reading. The sight was so adorably domestic that he didn't want to interrupt, but he felt as though he ought to, not wanting her to think he was spying. Coughing to announce himself, he saw her look up, startled. When she saw it was him her eyes momentarily flashed with something like fear; it made him want to embrace her, tell her there was nothing to worry about, he would never hurt her. Instead he nodded a greeting. "Is this where you've been spending your time?"

"Mostly," Looking reluctant, but without a bookmark, she was was forced to dog-ear the book and placed it on the arm of her chair. "Any library is usually a good guess for where I'll be, for future reference."

He smiled. "I also used to often prefer the comfort of books to people."

"It's not that I don't like being around people-" she protested.

"Sometimes it's just nice to be around characters who won't hurt you." For the first time Amara looked at him like he truly understood her and he realised they could be close without contact. He didn't need to push anything. "What are you reading?"

She blushed. "It's uh, not as profound as the things you were just saying, it's a children's book of stories. Draco said it was his childhood favourite."

"Draco?" Voldemort observed in a somewhat teasing tone. He knew of the pair's history and the blond boy had been doubtful Hermione would warm up to him, but this certainly sounded like the warmth of familiarity. He sat down opposite her. "How does it compare to your childhood favourites?"

"I've only read a couple but they seem quite similar to Muggle fairy tales in some ways, although the moral at the end of the story is usually more along the lines of 'magic can't solve all your problems' than 'the prince saved her from a gloomy existence and she lived happily ever after', which I appreciate," Amara explained. "There's this one about three brothers which is really quite tragic. They are each offered a reward by Death. The first brother desires an unbeatable wand- the Elder Wand- but he boasts of it and is killed by another who claims the wand for their own." Voldemort's attention was fully peaked. It sounded like he'd found his object in the most unlikely of places- within the pages of a fairy tale. "The second brother has lost his lover so he gets a resurrection stone to revive her, but ultimately commits suicide when he learns she was happier dead. The last brother is skeptical so he asks for an invisibility cloak which allows him to escape from death and live a long life with a natural death at the end, passing it down the generations of his family."

"Does it give any clue as to where these objects are now?" Asked Voldemort.

His daughter's forehead furrowed. "It's fiction. They're not-" he could see from the look on her face that he'd realised something and it was incredibly tempting to push for what. "Harry has an invisibility cloak from his father that we used to use to sneak around Hogwarts... but that can't possibly be the same one."

"I think it could," Voldemort said. "Furthermore, I think that the other two rewards are real as well, and that whoever possesses all three is the master of Death."

Amara put a hand to her head for a moment, then she got to her feet. He gave her a querying look. "I may not want to fight beside you against my friends and everything I've spent my life believing," she told him. "But researching is my forte. So let's get on with it!"

* * *

Father and daughter searched bookshelves all afternoon, until Hermione came upon a desk on the second level. Quite tired, she sat down in the chair, resting her hands on the desk. It was only because of the silence that she heard a tiny click. Removing her hands, she saw that a drawer was now jutting out the tiniest amount, where she was fairly sure there had been none before. Perplexed, she pulled open the drawer. Inside it contained a pile of boring looking papers, but she decided to give them a quick scan as information didn't just have to be in a book format, right? Her eyes grew as wide as the full moon as she digested the meaning of the one on top. Words, she wasn't sure which ones, caught in her throat as she let out a little choking sound.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" Asked the dark wizard she should have known would only ever serve his own motives- wasn't he right now trying to become the damn master of death? Looking over her shoulder, away from the two tiny ink hand imprints that had been used for two who couldn't use a pen, she shook her head, eyes hardened and dull.

 _ **UH-OH!**_

 ** _Fast Frank: Wow, harsh haha!_**

 ** _Jenisha: Aw thank you!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6:_**

Stony faced, Hermione faced the four adults she'd wanted to trust, Draco stood beside her. From what they'd told her, her first thoughts had been true. The document she'd discovered was indeed some medieval Pureblood betrothal they hadn't agreed to as children to cement their unity and loyalty. The drawer had appeared at her touch because it recognised her as a Malfoy, even though they hadn't married. She'd protested about the bloodlines, but apparently it was the custom for inbreeding among the sacred twenty eight to preserve their status. Besides, they'd said, the chances of birth defects for cousins compared to non-relations were only a few percentage points higher, the same amount as for having a child at 40 compared to 30. Honestly that wasn't what was bothering her as she didn't think of Draco as family in any way whatsoever. The problem was the lack of choice, but she latched onto any protest she could think of until she finally burst. She'd meant to tell him alone, but it flew from her lips in a poison of hurt.

"Harry, Ron and I have been hunting down your horcruxes!" Hermione angrily admitted to her father in a shout. Draco looked confused, but the four adults immediately became panicked. "I'm furious at you right now but I still want you to know the truth, because that's what family does."

"My vault," said Bellatrix, taking a step forward. "That was you?" Hermione nodded, somewhat shamefully. She knew they were the ones in the wrong but seeing their worry she couldn't help but feel the same. "Of course it was," the woman said, seemingly more to herself than any one else. "No-one else but myself or my next of kin could have escaped from that room alive, when they touched the gold it would have-"

"Multiplied?" Hermione suggested. Harry and Ron had in fact touched it, and they had barely escaped with their lives.

"Which horcruxes have you found?" Asked Lucius.

Hermione counted them off on her fingers, "before we knew it was one Harry destroyed the Tom Riddle diary in second year; Professor Dumbledore used the sword of Gryffindor to destroy your father's ring the night he died;" Voldemort sneered at the mere mention of the man who'd sired him. "Ron smashed Slytherin's locket that that troll Umbridge had stolen; and we got Hufflepuff's Cup from your vault," she nodded at Bellatrix, pausing a moment before silently chastising herself. No matter how mad she might be, she would not be the reason she lost her father again, this time for good. She had to hand it over. "We didn't have anything to destroy it though. It was in my bag when the Snatchers took us. They have it." Lucius nodded resolutely and disapparated to go intimidate some thugs.

"Do you know where your companions' next stop will be?" Asked Narcissa. They hadn't made any exact plans, but Harry had been adamant that Voldemort must have left a Horcrux at Hogwarts. She told them this and her father nodded.

"Ravenclaw's diadem, But it won't be there for long." He turned to Draco, the only one of them with access to Hogwarts currently, and explained how to access the room he'd hidden it in.

"What about the last one?" Questioned Hermione. "Is that safe?" As she spoke, Voldemort's pet snake Nagini slithered forwards with a hiss and he stroked her familiarly. Realisation dawned on Hermione, and Bellatrix smiled malevolently upon seeing the moment her daughter worked it out.

* * *

It was easy enough for Draco to get into the Death Eater supervised Hogwarts and collect the diadem from the Room of Requirement, but as fate would have it, as he stepped out of it he was greeted by all of his friends. They stood assembled in a semi-circle as Draco shifted the bag containing a slither of the Dark Lord's soul behind him. "What are you all doing here?" He asked.

Blaise shrugged. "I think the more pressing question is where you've been the past few days. Where did you disappear to?"

"School re-started two days ago," Daphne pointed out.

"I told you," he directed this to Vince and Greg, admittedly the dimmest of the group and the only ones he'd told he'd be leaving via owl. Perhaps not the best choice. He lowered his voice. "I had to identify the Gryffindorks and there was an unexpected development. All will be explained soon enough. Now if you'll excuse me," he tried to push between Theo and Blaise but they locked him in, closing ranks. "What the hell is going on?"

" _Expelliarmus!_ " Shrieked Pansy as Theo leant down and grabbed the bag whilst Blaise flicked his wand in the shape of an open triangle. " _Brachiabindo!"_

Ropes appeared, securely tied around Draco's legs and hands. He glared up at these people, now sure that they weren't his friends. 'Theo' had pulled the diadem out of his bag and was examining it unsurely. "How do we know if this is what Harry and Ron were looking for?"

"Of course it is," 'Pansy' said. "He didn't take the tiara because it set off his eyes!" She took a few purposeful steps forward, wand outstretched. "Y'know, Harry taught me this curse before he left. I'm gonna make you bleed Malfoy."

"Ginny don't!" Cried out Vince in the nervous tone that could only be achieved to such an effect by Longbottom. So the Dazzling Duo has sent their B Team in to get the horcrux?

The Weaslette turned away to face her compatriots. "I'm not gonna Avada him, just mess up his pretty face with some slashes and minor disfigurement." As she did so, whilst the attention was off him, Draco recalled the room he'd just left, and the cabinet within it which he'd spent all of last year preparing. Just using it once would almost be a waste. He reached under his robes and pressed down on the Dark Mark that rested on his forearm.

"The words 'suffer' and 'a little' are an oxymoron," said Daphne in a dreamy voice that made him suspect this was their cooky Ravenclaw friend.

But the thief in Blaise's skin twisted the ever cheeky Italian's features into a sadistic smile that was almost painful to observe. "I agree with Gin. Let's make the git suffer a little."

"I don't like this," whined Longbottom, glancing around paranoid. He was right to be so. Reinforcements were on their way.

* * *

The familiar summons burned in Voldemort's head and he immediately stood, Bellatrix could feel it on her arm too, he saw it in her face. Amara, however, was puzzled. "We must go sweetheart," he told her, gripping her hand without thinking. She began to flinch from the touch, but the surprise on her face told him she was surprised how human he felt rather than scaly or rough. "Stay with Narcissa." The Malfoy matriarch nodded her assent that she would protect his daughter, but said girl was rather less obliging.

"What do you mean?" She got up from her own chair, following them rebelliously as they hurried to get Lucius, who from the pop next door had just returned from acquiring the cup with more ease than his son in his own task.

"No time to explain," he said, nodding to his joint two second's-in-command and the trio apparated to Borgin and Burke's- with an unexpected passenger. Voldemort felt her latch onto his arm the millisecond he'd left, and indeed, when he looked up she was there beside him. There was no time for argument though. He pressed down Lucius' mark to summon the others and the man went through to the cupboard without another comment, he wouldn't be distracted from saving his child, something Voldemort understood.

"Amara!" Roared Bellatrix in easily the angriest tone either of them had used towards their daughter. "You will apparate back to the Manor right now!"

As his servants began to materialise Voldemort gestured to the cabinet with one hand, the other on his head in a show of exhaustion. "I will not," she professed passionately. "You may have wanted to control my life when I was a baby but I am a grown woman now. I'm sorry we lost that time with each other but I will not be treated like a child. You **will not** marry me off without my permission, and you **will** tell me what is going on." The fire in her voice made Bellatrix and Voldemort both quiver with pride at their strong girl, so he responded,

"We're going to get Draco, but you can't come. He's at Hogwarts, where they don't know who you truly are, and if they have been informed by the Order that will be even worse. Besides, you didn't want to fight with us."

"But this isn't a fight!" Amara protested, her hair whipping around her as she threw her arms up in protest, a swirling storm threatening to engulf herself. "It's a rescue mission. You're the ones who bonded me to Draco, I want to help him."

"I am not sure about that," said Voldemort darkly. Disliking being distressed, Bellatrix followed the others through the cabinet. By now it was just the two of them left in the shop. "Go home."

"No." Red eyes bore into the colour he remembered being his own, but she wouldn't back down. The monster no longer scared her.

"Fine," he relented. "But once we have Draco you let him take you back to the manor straight away." She nodded assent and with that they pulled open the door of the cabinet and moments later marched out into Hogwarts; a conquering army they'd never see coming.

 _ **AN: Part 2 (Chapter 9) will take place at Hogwarts, so we're getting to the dark!Hermione stuff soon, don't worry guys!**_

 ** _Jenisha: At least every hour! Wow, dedication! Haha, thank you so much :)_**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7:**_

When Hermione emerged from the cabinet she was surprised to find herself in a hoarder's room of clutter. Voldemort came through behind her and immediately went to a shelf, clearly knowing his way around. The horcrux, at least she assumed that was what he was looking for, was gone, so Draco must have managed to retrieve it. A couple of Death Eaters stood by the door said that they could hear voices outside. They were all looking at Hermione strangely, wondering why a known associate of the Dark Lord's greatest enemy, and a mudblood at that, was under his protection, but none of them addressed her in any way. Quickly and efficiently Voldemort, apparently not just here to save the teenager, arranged them into groups with different roles. Hermione was somewhat surprised to hear him order them to avoid killing anyone, especially not children, and then they were out of the door, the first group easily incapacitating the six teenagers outside whilst the others split up. "About time," said Draco in a voice that reminded her of the spoiled prat he'd always acted as, but beneath it she could hear real fear and relief. She struggled to untie his bonds with her hands, unable to think of the spell at that moment. When she looked up from the knots she saw him looking down at her, surprise etched plainly on his face. "What are you doing here?"

She was ready to respond with a sharp retort when another voice behind said "that's exactly what we want to know." Hermione spun her head to see one of Draco's cronies, who had the point of a wand to their chin, with an expression of hurt and confusion. In response her forehead creased. Why should they feel betrayed by her appearance? She wasn't sure she'd exchanged two words with this particular member of the posse.

"It's the hare," said the willowy blonde.

Catching onto her meaning, Parkinson added, "and the horse." She elbowed the dark skinned boy next to her. He looked confused for a moment before she gave him a purposeful look and his mouth made an O shape. "The fox."

"The, uh..." Crabbe or Goyle, she sometimes got confused between the two bouncers, stuttered. "Shapeless piece of mist?" She held her hand up to stop the last two, having realised that these were members of Dumbledore's Army giving the patronuses Harry had taught them to make as a way of secretly revealing their identity. Quite smart really, but then Luna was a Ravenclaw and she'd been the one to have the idea. As the last piece of rope fell to the floor Draco stood up, offering her his hand. The DA members watched in horror as she hesitantly took it, and though she released it as soon as they were up, Ginny's eyes in particular looked about ready to burst they were so wide. She wanted to run away. It was like when she'd told the ginger's brother all over again. Even though it was a Slytherin, she could see the Gryffindor behind the polyjuice potion and she knew how similar the Weasleys were to each other. Even Harry had reacted badly, and he was the calmer, more reasonable of the two boys. She stood tall though, took a deep breath-

"Hold on," Hermione turned to face Voldemort. He'd stayed with this group, probably to make sure she left right about now. She almost expected him to push her back into the Room of Requirement. He drew her aside. "How would you feel about exposing how closed-minded your friends really are?"

She couldn't deny it was tempting. At the same time, she didn't want to hurt them anymore than she had done already. "I thought you didn't want me in the fray."

"This is only Act One," he said with a masterful, manipulative leer. She had no doubt that he would be the director of anyone who had wronged him's downfall- and anyone else who got in the way. "Before the climax I will ensure you are long gone." For some reason she looked towards Draco. His father was holding Seamus and mostly focussed on that, but he also somehow managed to convey a brief look of disappointment towards his son, who looked downwards dejectedly. She looked at Neville, disbelieving and hopeful. She looked at Ginny, watching her with narrow eyes which had already made their judgement before she'd even had a chance to defend herself. She gave a sharp nod.

* * *

Her head was spinning. Hermione sat down on the bottom stair outside the Great Hall, unafraid that anyone would walk past as they had all been within eating for a few minutes now. It seemed implausible that a life, a set of beliefs, a group of friends could be maintained for so long and then gone in a flash. She tried to imagine what she'd be doing right now if she'd been given more time to change their appearances or they'd gotten away from the snatchers some other way; sitting around a warm fire somewhere in the wild on the way here probably, reminiscing on old times as the Golden Trio, laughing at the boys' stupid antics. Someone sat down beside her and she turned her head to see who. "What are you doing?"

She sighed. "Thinking about my fake life." Real sincerity in his voice, he protested that it wasn't true, but she wasn't so sure. "Dumbledore took me from my family and placed me with the opposite of them. I grew up with an insanely different life than I might have had, but I don't know if even that would have been enough to sway the hat." She remembered her sorting like it was yesterday. It had been the start of a new dawn, and one of the few things Hogwarts: A History hadn't explained to her. She'd been bubbling over with excitement. Too busy preening at the compliments to her intelligence and surprised by the capacity for bravery it saw within, she hadn't much heeded the false sentence start it took before it proclaimed her red and gold. "My father is a direct descendant of the founder, and my mother's family has been in the dungeons for centuries. I'm certainly ambitious, driven by a need to succeed, I don't like to brag but I do feel I've led the boys and shown resourcefulness multiple times over the years..."

"That would have been cool if we were in the same house."

Hermione laughed and shoved him playfully. "Bugger off! It would have been years of torture, torment and isolation. There's no chance you or your friends would have accepted a Muggleborn into your ranks."

Draco shrugged. "Don't be so sure. I think we would all have been quite intrigued to find out what was so special about you for you to be the first Muggleborn snake."

She blushed, then remembered that she wasn't actually Muggleborn. "So I'm not special now I'm a half blood?"

He chuckled. "No matter your blood status you'll always be special, Miss Brightest Witch of her Age." She giggled, but fell silent as she realised his eyes had fallen to her lips. They darted back up, stormy grey and muddy brown the only colours of the rainbow for a few thumps of her heartbeat. She'd been right before. They were no longer smug and perfectly haughty. All his features had become thinner and worn by worry and war. Trying to be what others wanted. The dark circles under them made him look tired, but more than that, human. She would have happily continued down his face, never having really given herself the chance to inspect it, but he was slowly leaning in. Without thinking about it she did the same. "Off you go!" Like a ringing bell Lucius's voice jolted her awake and she cursed her foolishness. Her parents had told her after Draco had left that only if they kissed would the contract be activated, as traditionally that would symbolise marriage. Swept up in stupid teenage hormones, she'd almost let herself get locked down to someone she'd hated for years, and whilst she didn't feel that way anymore, she certainly wasn't ready to marry him just because it had been pre-arranged. "If you don't head in now I suspect you'll lose your chance. People will be finishing dinner soon." Hermione nodded to him.

Her parents were stood behind him, showing no sign of having seen what had transpired, although being Slytherins she couldn't rule out that they weren't just sneakily hiding their feelings on it. "You will meet us down at the base immediately afterwards," Bellatrix reminded her nephew. Draco nodded like a soldier obeying orders. "Good luck," the woman reached out as if to kiss Hermione goodbye on the forehead, but stopped herself. Instead, Hermione darted in and wrapped her in a quick hug. Bellatrix was clearly stunned by the contact, her arms hanging limply at her sides, before clasping her daughter tightly to her, reluctant to release her. When she did, Voldemort received one too, and when Hermione drew back she saw a single tear escaping from his eye despite his stoic expression. She had to tear herself away, push on towards the familiar wooden double doors. Time to fire the first shot in what could be the final battle.

 ** _AN: Thank you for so many reviews last chapter! Love you guys ;) Happy bank holiday Monday update!_**

 ** _Jenisha: Thanks. Haha! Hope you had fun on holiday anyway!_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8:_**

Hermione felt like an invading general rather than a celebrated soldier enjoying a homecoming as the Imperiused DA members, whose faces had morphed back into their own again, fanned our around her in a distinctly threatening formation. She knew Draco was just outside and she took comfort in that when the gasps and whispers rustled the room. "Miss Granger?" Questioned Professor McGonagall, abruptly leaping to her feet from her position beside Snape. Two unfamiliar teachers she'd read about in the Daily Prophet made to stop her, but the new headmaster raised a hand to get them to reseat themselves and nodded encouragingly to Hermione, albeit encouraging was the same look for him as scathing or neutral. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story Professor," she admitted. Besides the odd whisper, she had a fully attentive audience "But I'll give you the abridged version. A little over a week ago Harry, Ron and I were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor." Distressed cries abounded. The Golden Trio, the saviours of the wizarding world, caught by You-Know-Who's pet family. "There, I learnt something that shocked me to my core." She surveyed the crowd of her teachers and fellow students, wanting to see their reactions. "My parents are Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort." Gasps. Shrieks. Lavender Brown fainted clean away, her best friend Parvati too busy with her hand clasped over her mouth to stop her falling face first into her dinner plate. No matter the colour ties they wore, the students all had similar disbelieving, stunned and terrified expressions. The teachers were what really interested her. Their faces made it clear that they'd had no idea, and she was pleased that at least Dumbledore had been the only respected teacher who'd betrayed her. "I was kidnapped as a baby by the Order and Dumbledore, the ones I'd always thought were the heroes of our story. I told my friends, hoping for support in such a horrifying time but instead they turned on me and attacked me. I genuinely think Ron might have killed me if they hadn't apparated away." People looked a little lost now, unsure what to believe. That was the goal. Her part was over. Gingerly, she took a small step back. "I- I wanted you all to know the truth." She stepped around the zombies surrounding her and retreated to Draco, but before she reached him she saw that he wasn't stood waiting for her, instead he was suspended in midair. Upside down. His eyes flashed a warning when he saw her and she was thankful for it. If she hadn't pulled out her wand, she wouldn't have managed to cast a protego around herself as a stupefy was thrown at her with no warning. _What in Godric's name-_

"Unsportsmanlike, Potter," sneered Draco, but his panic was undeniable.

Harry was circling her as students in the Great Hall watched paralysed and anxiously. "Stay out of this Malfoy."

"You're upset with me," she said. "Unfairly. But let Draco go."

" _Draco!_ " Ron jeered, she hadn't even noticed him, but he was the one levitating the blond. "I told you we made the right choice Harry."

" _Locomotor mortis_!" Cried Harry, but his voice shook a little and she managed to deflect it easily enough. In the back of her mind she could hear footsteps rapidly approaching down the aisle in the middle of the hall but she focussed on the attempted _sectumsempra_ thrown at her, responding with an unconvincing _impedimenta_ that only sent Harry stumbling back a few feet rather than smashing into the wall. She'd been thrown off by the fact that her best friend would actually try such an aggressive, painful spell against her.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Harry's wand flew into Snape's hands, Ron letting out an animalistic growl as the teacher they'd hated cast the counter spell to _levicorpus_. "Don't think you can outwit me with a spell I created Mr Weasley," he said drolly.

Unarmed, Harry's hands fisted as if he were about to resort to punching Snape like this was a pub brawl. "You!" He looked ready to boil over. "You dare sit in his chair!"

"I will have you know, Mr Potter," Snape derided him. "Your god is the one who had me kill him. It was all part of his plan. I was on his side implicitly, until I discovered what he had done to an innocent child. I only wish I had left him alive to duel him fairly now."

Ron spat at her feet. "The bitch was never innocent. Monsters can't breed children, only more monsters." He'd barely finished when he shouted vehemently _"CONFRINGO!"_ The blasting curse was thrown with immense power and passion, but just as passionate was Draco's shield charm. Orange, fire-like magic rebounded off the shield and flew back into the face of a momentarily terrified Ron. The atoms of his body exploded in a burst, leaving only a scorched pile of ash on the floor. Harry and Hermione's united screams merged into one creature as they both dropped to the floor, crawling over to the mess. No matter how he'd reacted, Ron had still meant so much to her for so long that Hermione's body shook convulsively. Draco was next to her, offering his body to hide her face in, aware of the stares of the whole school, but she couldn't even cry. It was as if her tears had given up on Ron already. They refused to fall. Harry was crying though. "How-?"

Draco frowned. "Any spell can kill. Light or dark. Even the most harmless seeming can be deadly in the wrong hands, or out of control."

Harry flared up at him through the fringe that had grown too long whilst they were on the run. "Get out."

"I suggest you're the one who 'gets out' mate," Draco hissed. "And I give that option for her sake, not yours." Hermione looked at him. He looked back. Harry looked at them both. Wobbling, he got to his feet, McGonnogall accompanying him. Hermione genuinely hoped her head of house would get him somewhere far away and safe. She wanted that for him. With Harry gone Draco whispered to her, asking if they should get back to the Manor away from all of this. The DA members were waking up, safely subdued by the teacher siblings. The others were mourning, even the Slytherins looked subdued, but as Hermione rose they did as well, standing in solidarity with her. Some Ravenclaws joined them, a spatter of Hufflepuffs, some of her old housemates.

Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw left her bench and approached them. "I was made Head Girl at the beginning of this year, so I'm sure I speak for us all when I say we would welcome you back with open arms." If there were any dissenters they didn't make themselves known. "And if the headmaster agrees," she looked to Snape. "I think it is quite clear that you were the only ever real option for my role, they may as well have just picked any one of the rest of us out of a hat." She inclined her head to Draco. "Besides, it's only fitting that you two are the power couple."

"We're not a couple," Draco and Hermione said at the same time, then she glanced at him, digesting the whole sentence. "You're Head Boy? You never told me."

"It never came up," he shrugged.

She smiled faintly, at him, at Lisa, at the assembled students. This was where she belonged. These were the people she wanted to be with. This really was a homecoming. Somehow, even with all the pain and missing pieces, this felt like the final puzzle piece slotting into place. In reality, she was a way off that yet.

 ** _AN: Et fini (of part 1)! We're back at Hogwarts now, Dramione will be sharing a common room. I'll just leave you with the knowledge that things are changing..._**

 ** _Jenisha: Nearly! It may happen eventually ;)_**


	9. Part II: Chapter 9

_**Part II**_

 _ **Chapter 9:**_

"Stop it." Hermione hissed, swatting at the boy buzzing around her like a fly. He'd been trying to convince her to come watch his Quidditch game for half an hour and her protests that she was months behind the syllabus were only met with arguments that she'd had plenty of practical experience instead and at any rate she was so smart she could probably pass the exams without any revision. If she was being honest with herself there was another reason for the constant workload she'd set herself. If she dedicated herself utterly and completely to it: between lessons; even at meals; there would be no time to think of other, less pleasant things than advanced arithmancy. Unfortunately she still had to sleep and that was when the nightmares broke past her walls and invaded. Ron would be there usually, fire slowly engulfing his body so that she could see every inch of his suffering in high definition. Sometimes it was her attached to the pyre like a medieval witch. Harry would call her a demon and set fire to her feet, watching gleefully as the flames spread up her body until she was burning alive. If she screamed loud enough Draco might hear and release her early by shaking her awake. He'd lie beside her on top of the covers while she lay underneath them. They never talked about it come daylight but she was glad she wasn't stranded in the Gryffindor dorms with four teenage girls who could be petty and cruel when they liked.

"You know what," Draco said under his breath and then he put his hands on either side of her waist and before she could protest, lifted her up over his shoulder and headed towards the portrait that took them out of the Heads Common Room.

"What the bloody hell Malfoy?" She shrieked, kicking her legs uncooperatively. "Put me down this instant."

"Oh we're back to last names are we?" He reached for the portrait door and managed to pull it open, although he had to shut it with a kick of his foot.

"When you're acting like a heathen then yes we absolutely are!"

"You should appreciate that I'm trying to improve your social life, Granger," he said purposefully. "It takes a lot of effort on my part. You're not exactly light as a feather!"

"Oi!" Her kicking intensified. "Maybe it's because you're as skinny as a skeleton."

"Blessed with good genetics." It was true. She'd watched him across the hall when her eyes got blurry from reading her textbook and seen him stuffing his face just like her friends used to do, but apparently he had a fast metabolism. All that Quidditch he was always at probably helped. Speaking of, here they were at the pitch. He plopped her down on the grass and she glared at him, crossing her arms in response to his breathless expression. "Here, grumpy," he yanked the green and silver scarf from around his neck and wrapped it round hers. She touched the tassels at the end distastefully and he rolled his eyes. "It's not like Gryffindor's playing today. No conflict of interest."

"Who am I supposed to sit with?"

"Any excuse!" It was true. She used to sit by herself often enough to watch Harry and Ron. And everyone wanted to show their support for her nowadays. She had no shortage of 'friends'. "Aren't you going to wish me luck?"

"Bugger off," she flipped him her middle finger, to which he gasped as if scandalised and hurried off to go ready his team. Of course Draco had needed to get there early so there was barely anyone in the stands yet. Without a book, as she had always had to entertain herself at these things previously, Hermione's mind couldn't stop itself from catapulting her back in time. All over again, she cast a small fire to stop Quirrell- though at the time they'd thought it was Snape- cursing Harry's broom. Malfoy called her Mudblood for the first time. She watched Harry fall fifty feet in a storm. She cheered and hugged Ron as their friend caught the snitch and won the Cup for Gryffindor. She grinned at the redhead as he blossomed into an excellent Keeper.

"Hermione?" She looked up, almost certain she was looking at a ghost of Quidditch Past when she saw Ginny Weasley stood in front of her. She fully expected a slap across the face but instead the girl in the year below gestured to the stands and asked if she could sit. With Hermione's assent she sat down silently and the two girls remained that way, both staring at the pitch down below where nothing much was happening since the teams were both in their changing rooms and people had only begun arriving around them in hoards a few minutes ago. At last Ginny said "I don't blame you, you know." Hermione turned to face her, surprised. Ginny hadn't spoken to her since she'd returned to school but she'd been sure the other girl would be as furious at her as Ron had been. "My Mum does, so I'd steer clear, but not me, or Fred and George. I... I was angry when you showed up with You-Know-Who and well... you-know-who, but I heard what happened to you as a child and it makes me feel sick to think that my parents were involved. What's worse is that my brother's hatred of you for a reason that you couldn't control led to his... what happened to him." She pushed her hair back as the wind tousled it. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that." Hermione thanked her, glad that at least one of her genuine old friends was accepting, even if it wasn't one of the two she'd wanted to keep the most. Ginny gestured to her scarf. "Switching teams?"

Hermione glanced down at it. "Nah," she said decidedly after a pause. "Gryffindor is where I belong now, even if it wasn't always fated."

* * *

After the match the two girls decided to go back to the Heads Common Room for a quiet chat and a cup of tea. Unfortunately, they'd barely settled down on the sofa when a raucous crowd burst through the portrait door and surrounded them. "Draco!" Hermione shouted over the racket when she finally located her co-Head and approached him, Ginny trailing behind. "What in Godric's name is going on?"

"Salazar's name babe," corrected an already tipsy Theodore Nott as he grabbed Daphne Greenglass' arm and pulled her into the fray of bodies.

Upon spotting Ginny, Draco shot her a look to ask if she was alright. She responded with a quick jerk of her head, then raised her eyebrows to show she was still waiting for an answer. "Some first year blew something up down in potions so Snape wanted us out of the way to clear the mess, and more importantly the smell, which even permeated the common room."

"And you couldn't just have your victory party out by the lake or something?" She asked. "It's a lovely day!"

He made a rather mocking 'aw' noise, looking like a twelve year old who'd been given a puppy for Christmas. "You noticed we won!"

"Shove off!"

"Eyes off the arse, Zabini," Ginny droned as if this was a routine thing with them.

The boy beside Draco shrugged and said without a shred of remorse, "it's a lovely arse and I'm an appreciator of the lovely things in life."

"Nope," Ginny popped the p as she shut him down, saying a quick goodbye to Hermione but that she couldn't be in a place with so many Slytherins. Hermione was surprised how comfortable she felt about it actually. Of course she wasn't happy that her privacy had been invaded, but no more than she would she have been had it been Gryffindors instead. "Eyes up!" Ginny called back without turning around and Blaise clapped his hands together delightedly.

"Dance with me," Draco ordered. She wanted to protest that she'd rather just go to bed, but honestly, she was enjoying the atmosphere amongst the Slytherins. "Just one."

"Just one," she repeated, but as they got to the other writhing bodies the fast paced song came to an end and another one started. As soon as Hermione recognised it she doubled over laughing. The Macarena? She'd been hearing this on the radio back home non-stop for years ever since it came out, but she never imagined it would play at a Slytherin party. When she looked up Draco had an expression that seemed a little hurt. She frowned. Was he... blushing? She surveyed him. "You did this, you barmy idiot?"

He put a finger to his lips as if to say 'shush! I have a reputation to uphold!' "I thought you might feel more comfortable here with music you knew, and I didn't want you to run off," he admitted.

She smiled. "How about a few more spins around the floor?"

* * *

The morning after the party, for the first time since Ron's death, Hermione awoke from a dreamless sleep. She went down to breakfast with a smile on her face and without her arms weighed down by books. Humming the tune of the Macarena, she buttered her toast and took her copy of the Daily Prophet from an owl, as well as a letter from her parents, they sent correspondence daily. She'd taken a bite out of her breakfast when a familiar snowy owl delivered an envelope. Hermione was so gobsmacked she dropped her toast, and she didn't even notice the colour of the envelope as she tore it open and it grew fangs, the whole hall looking over as it bellowed in the voice of Harry Potter "DON'T THINK YOU'VE GOTTEN AWAY WITH ANYTHING YOU SLIMY SLUT! YOU MAY BE LOUNGING ON YOUR GILDED THRONE RIGHT NOW BUT THE ORDER REFUSES TO LIE DOWN AND WELCOME TYRANNY!" Hermione's eyes turned a shade darker as the howler exploded in flames, hissing final insults as it went. Everyone waited for her response on the edge of their seats. She picked up her slice of toast and took a bite. She'd tried to save Harry from this fate, but if he wouldn't just back down he'd have to be put down.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10:**_

The headmaster had summoned both sets of parents, per Hermione's request, and along with Draco and Snape himself, they now sat in the office. Mainly due to intervention from herself, very little had changed since she'd returned to Hogwarts despite Voldemort's now unparalleled grip on both the Ministry and the school. She knew her father was still searching for the Elder Wand but he had not been persecuting either Muggleborns or blood traitors. In some ways things were better now. Better organised. Better running. There was still resistance, as Harry's howler had hinted so eloquently. Members of the Order, which had expanded since the news of her parentage, had left their Ministry jobs and withdrawn their children from Hogwarts. Ginny had told her yesterday that her mother was still fighting tooth and nail to get her out, but she knew this was where she wanted to be. There had been a few skirmishes but largely everything was quiet, which made Hermione think they were planning something. Now so was she. Standing behind the headmaster's desk, she told them about her plans for vengeance. She made sure to remind her mother that the Longbottoms had suffered enough. She had never met them, but their son was harmless, and who was to say they wouldn't regret their actions now if they had sufficient mental capacity. She was targeting the people whose views hadn't changed, or had even intensified. Lee Jordan, who'd started a radio show attacking her with secret code names to identify his contributors. Millicent Bulstrode and her family, who had amazingly defected to the Order from such immense hatred towards her. Aberforth Dumbledore, who continued his brother's legacy by speaking out against her and attempting to raise mobs. The Weasley parents, the only Order members still alive who'd aided in her abduction and continued to say she was as rotten as their son had. At the top of her hit list: Harry. By the end of the year each of these people would be either dead or their lives would be in tatters. And the grand finale? Hermione spread her hands on the table and leaned over it, announcing to the small group, "at the end of the school year there's going to be the grandest wedding the Wizarding World has ever seen, and you're all invited." Her comment was met with double takes from everyone, none more so than Draco's. But as she explained to them, weddings were a symbol of joy and, just as Voldemort had broken up Bill and Fleur's, Harry wouldn't be able to resist ruining her happiness, and then they would catch him.

"I always dreamed of scheming with my daughter," said Bellatrix, tears in her eyes. Voldemort just stared at her; studying her, she realised, seeing another side to her that she herself hadn't even known existed before Harry had provoked it. Now that it had come out to play she felt sure the Boy who Lived was going to wish he'd died back when things were easy. Because if the Order wasn't going to 'lie down' then neither was she.

* * *

"You know," Draco told Hermione as they walked back to their dorm after the meeting. Plans were in motion and he was ready to play his part too. "Normally proposals are a little more romantic." She laughed, but he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. It was late. The corridors were completely empty; no sign of even Filch or Peeves anywhere. He dug into his robe and pulled out the little box. Hermione's amused face turned more serious as he revealed the silver band with inset sapphires. She started to protest that she couldn't wear something so clearly expensive, but he cut in that it was tradition for the Malfoy men to give it to their fiancées so it would add credibility to their story. He slid it onto her ring finger and they both admired it for a moment. "It was made for you."

"Sapphires are my birth stone," she admitted.

He balked. "I thought you didn't buy into all that nonsense." He distinctly remembered hearing her complaining about divination wherever she went for the brief period she'd taken the class.

"Not all the meanings and bollocks attached to it, but who doesn't love a shiny gem," she shrugged, still inspecting the jewellery. The spell finally broken, she glanced up at him. "Have you been carrying this around for years then, hoping I'd show up?"

"Only a few days," he admitted sheepishly. "Father gave it to me after we discovered your true identity in case I ever needed it. Our parents are rather enamoured with the idea of this relationship playing out, it's rather cruel actually to tease them like this."

"Cruel is a streak I have now," she said, reminding him more of both Bella and the Dark Lord than she ever had before. So much so that it was momentarily impossible to comprehend that at one point he hadn't known the truth. "I've still not forgiven them for what they did to us."

For Draco it was different. He'd grown up surrounded by Pureblood customs and culture. This was just how things were. At least half of his friends were in similar arrangements: Theo and Daphne, who were rather content with their situation; Pansy and Marcus Flint; who'd agreed years ago that they were both free to exhaust all their options before they settled down with each other and had barely spoken since. Over the years Draco had heard his parents considering a second arrangement for him if the witch he was betrothed to was dead, but he supposed if they'd tried it hadn't worked because Amara was still alive. Since he'd been told about the unbreakable contract but that his intended was lost he'd taken out his frustration by bedding as many girls as he could: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff. He didn't discriminate- except of course, no Gryffindors. It wasn't as if he'd wanted to get married anytime soon, but to know that that option was closed to him: that as the only hope his family had he would be unable to continue the Malfoy family name; it had stung. He had felt shameful, even though he knew it wasn't in his fault. And now she was in front of him, but this wedding would never get to the kiss. In a cruel twist of fate, even still, he would be alone. Any future children would be illegitimate. And if he was being honest, he wasn't sure he'd want another trophy wife even if he could have one. "Yeah," he agreed. "We got the short end of the stick."

 ** _:( Poor Draco._**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11:_**

 ** _AN: Be warned, this is a pretty dark bit..._**

Bellatrix had been itching for some action ever since she'd been broken out of Azkaban. As soon as Amara had given them the plan she'd wanted to launch straight into it and go on a killing spree to get some of this tension out of her system, but unfortunately the foolish wizards openly supporting Potter were well hidden. They were no match for Lucius' spies though. Her brother-in-law had informants not just all over the country but in fact dotted around Europe. She knew it would only be a matter of time and she just had to be patient; admittedly not one of her strongest qualities. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long. Less than a week after Lucius had sent his men out in full force he heard back from one on the Bulstrode family and she begged to be allowed to handle this one. Blood traitors were a personalpet peeve. The Dark Lord agreed to her request and allowed her to head a small group of his followers, reminding her with a jab about her capture to be careful this time.

The Bulstrodes had been discovered in one of their country houses in Cheshire. They'd been arrogant to remain in the country when she knew they had at least three holiday homes abroad. It was a shame to have to wipe out one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but that had never stopped her before. Singing quietly to herself as she rung the doorbell, she pulled her wand out and twirled it leisurely in her hands. "Three blind mice, three blind mice." Footsteps hurried away as one of the Death Eaters used _alohorama_ to unlock the door. "See how they run, see how they run." She followed them into the kitchen at a leisurely pace, wordlessly _accio_ 'ing the large kitchen knife with only a flick of her wand. "They all ran after the farmer's wife." She and two of the Death Eaters with her cast an _obscuro_ and blindfolds appeared over their panicked faces as they scrambled towards the back door, blocked by another of her companions. "Who cut off their tails with a carving knife." The three shook with fear as they stood trapped and blind against the wall. Bellatrix's grin grew as she plunged the knife into Phillip Bulstrode's neck and he sucked in several long, gasping, choking breaths. Allowing herself to enjoy the sight of the three family members slumping to the floor she chortled "Have you ever seen such a thing in your life as three blind mice?"

* * *

A nip on his nose woke Harry up from his sleep. Bleary eyed, he took the letter and then pushed his owl away, ignoring the disappointed noises she made. "Go wake up Gabrielle," he murmured. The little girl was never unhappy to spend some time with his owl since she was only on holiday from Beauxbatons for a couple more days so she wanted to enjoy the beautiful animal's presence whilst she could. Before he opened the letter Harry threw the duvet off himself and opened the traditional French shutters, unused to this humid weather. He settled back onto the bed, hoping for good news. Instead he was informed by Molly that the Bulstrodes had been murdered in their home. The news didn't particularly upset him, as the Slytherin girl had always been an evil glutton, but the memory of her holding Hermione in a headlock back in second year now gave him some joy. What bothered him was that the family were known to be opposed to his ex-friend. He wasn't fooled in the slightest by the fact that the murder weapon was Muggle. He was running out of supporters: even people like Remus and Tonks were neutral, unsure of who to back. Perhaps this could be used to his advantage. They could be made into martyrs to show the villainy of Hermione and her family. He refused to even think of her as Hermione anymore. His friend had been a lie. She wasn't even Granger now. She was Riddle.

* * *

The smile that tickled Hermione's lips as she mentally crossed names off her list was entrancing. Draco had to force himself to look away. Not fast enough though. As usual Theo and Daphne were embroiled in each other, Crabbe and Goyle were dim as dodgy lightbulbs and Blaise was currently plotting ways to get the Weaselette into his bed, but Pansy's eyes met his judgmentally. "The Dark Lord's daughter Drake?" She whistled. "Good luck with that."

He bristled. "I'll let you know I'm having great luck with 'that'." They'd decided not to announce their engagement until near the end of term to make it more realistic. The wedding would be soon after.

"Loath as I am to admit it," Pansy leaned in over her bowl of cereal. "I was always jealous of Granger." Draco's eyebrows rocketed up. Pansy Parkinson was the most confident witch he knew. "I always felt inadequate to her in classes, as we all did, but also when it came to you." Now he had no idea where she was going. He knew that Pansy had harboured feelings for him, but he and Hermione had never interacted positively up until a month ago. "I was always throwing myself at you but you never paid any attention, but you know who you did pay attention to? Even if you didn't realise it?" That couldn't have been true. Except. Second year: he called her Mudblood then felt a strange nauseous sensation in his stomach. Third year: he'd provoked her until she'd slapped him across the face. Fourth year: he'd danced with Pansy at the Yule Ball, but made jabs to her all night about how well Granger cleaned up for a mangy mutt. Pansy smiled as she watched Draco come to the realisation that some small part of him had always known.

* * *

"Hermione!" The brunette spun around as she heard her name called, a wide smile on her face. She bounded over to the blond, tipping her head to the side.

"Isn't it a lovely day Draco? Far too nice to stay inside working, and it's a Hogsmeade weekend! Let's go get a change of scenery!"

He was evidently surprised by her change in tune, but of course he wasn't going to discourage it. He'd been trying to persuade her to leave the castle for weeks. "Oh... alright then."

The two of them strolled down the road to the Wizarding village together, talking about things other than her devious plans due to the many ears around them. At several points she got a feeling that Draco had something to say to her but it wasn't until they'd gotten all the way down the hill that he seemed to decide he would. "I think tha-" she shivered as a frost came over her and she felt immediately drained of all hope. The familiar feeling had her reaching for her wand too slowly, but Draco was already there. Stepping protectively in front of her, a fire breathing dragon burst from his wand and repelled the ten foot tall, hooded, decayed creature with empty eye sockets and a gaping vacuum for a mouth. "You know how to cast a patronus?" She asked breathlessly. Unless he'd been hiding in the shadows, he certainly hadn't been at any of the DA meetings.

"My father taught me the year it was announced they were coming to Hogwarts in case any got too close for comfort."

"I'm surprised it wasn't a ferret," she tried for humour, anything to distract herself from the knowledge that it had been coming for her. She'd felt the awful sinking feeling and though it had no eyeballs if it had she was sure they would have been locked onto her as their target. Without another comment, Draco took her arm and pulled her back up the hill, glancing around them anxiously until they were safely back inside.

* * *

The two Head students had gone directly to Snape's office for answers, but the headmaster had none. He decided to contact Voldemort through the floo network and in a few moments his face appeared in the fireplace. "What's wrong?" He asked, immediately noticing that his daughter looked shaken up.

"My Lord," said Snape. "Since you took control of the Ministry have you not had control of all the dementors?"

"Yes," said Voldemort impatiently, unsure where the Potions Professor was going with this. "They came to me before that and have been on our side ever since. Why? What happened?"

"There was an incident on our way down to Hogsmeade just now, my Lord," admitted Draco. "A dementor appeared behind Hermione and was clearly approaching us specifically until I used the patronus charm to get rid of it."

Voldemort looked her up and down. "You're all right? It didn't touch you? You look drained."

"I'm fine," she said. "Just want to know what's going on. Obviously someone in the Order or one of their allies has control of some dementors."

"They'd have to still be in the Ministry," mused Voldemort. "Apparently Potter has more supporters than we've given him credit for. Until this issue is resolved I don't want you leaving the castle."

Hermione glared at his firey projection. He'd never looked more terrifying, and neither had she. "I don't want to be cooped up in a cage."

"I don't want you getting your soul sucked out," he'd won. "By the next Hogsmeade weekend I'm sure we'll have worked out who is responsible and made them watch as we pull out their entrails." And with that comforting thought he said farewell and set to work figuring out who the traitor could be.

 ** _Jenisha: It is a Dramione ;)_**

 ** _BlackHearted: Don't worry, Draco won't be alone forever!_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12:_**

 ** _AN: I'm glad you're all liking the darker direction, this chapter's a bit of break from that for some bonding time... unfortunately not between Draco and Hermione._**

Once she located them, Hermione's plans for vengeance for the Weasleys would be a little more drawn out and torturous than for anyone else because of the scale of their crimes. That was why she'd been avoiding Ginny, the guilt was somewhat getting to her. Of course, she'd still proceed, but it did pain her to know that she was about to isolate the only one of her old friends still standing by her, because Ron's death had been his own fault but this time the blood would be on her hands. She wanted to personally ensure they suffered for what they'd done to her. Naturally, avoiding Ginny was much easier when she didn't come bounding up to her in the Great Hall, sat down beside her on the bench and chattering away anxiously.

"My Godric Hermione," Ginny exhaled, seeing that she was alright. Everyone had heard about it by now. She'd already had several well wishes sent her way and a few panicked queries about if the dementors were now running amok. I heard what happened to you yesterday but I couldn't believe it! It's like the year Sirius escaped all over again."

"No it's not," Hermione snapped. "My father isn't endangering us, this is all down to your precious Order." It was only after she finished speaking that she realised what she'd called Voldemort. She'd been doing it in her head for some time now but she'd never actually referred to either of them as her parents to anyone, not Draco, not them. It had come out in a defensive slip, because she felt protective of him, she realised. "I'm sorry," she apologised to Ginny. "You've been so kind to me, that was petty."

Ginny shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have implied You-Know-Who would have allowed that to happen to you." She let her words mull in the air for a moment and then she grabbed Hermione's hands. "You look stressed." Hermione gave her a 'thanks' eye roll. She supposed true friendship was when you could call each other out. "Let's have a girl's night." That would involve spending a lot of time with Ginny and wasn't she trying to minimise that and so also her guilt. On the other hand it did sound appealing to have a night where they could pretend none of this had ever happened without needing to use one of those troublesome time turners. "I assume you don't want to involve a hoarde of sixth years," Ginny suggested, correctly. "So why don't we do it in your dorm instead of mine?"

She could convince Draco to spend the night with his friends or just hole up in his room. He probably had Quidditch to strategise on as usual. "Sounds like a plan."

"Perfect," Ginny squealed. "I have a lot of tests this week though, so let's wait until next Saturday." Hermione's smile slipped a little. By then the Weasleys might have been found, but she agreed anyway. Maybe they could hold off until afterwards if they were.

* * *

As it turned out no more of her targets had been found by Saturday and the week passed in a blur of work and slightly more play than she'd allowed herself previously. On Saturday night Ginny took an overnight bag down to dinner with her and afterwards the two girls walked back to the Heads dorm together. Hermione had already set up the TV to indulge in a cringe-inducing muggle rom-com, which they watched whilst giving each other manicures. After that they slathered on mud facials, and after putting pieces of cucumber over their eyes lay back to relax. "So you and Malfoy?" Ginny hinted, somewhat awkwardly.

For a moment Hermione forgot about their facade and almost went into a defensive stance but then she realised she should probably work on building up this relationship to make it seem more realistic so that a proposal didn't seem to come out of nowhere. "I feel like I've gotten to know a completely different side of him recently." That was true at least, lies based on truths were always more convincing.

"Do you not just think that's because you're his master's daughter now, rather than a Muggleborn?"

Draco had shaken away that suspicion a while ago. "I mean, I doubt this thing would have developed between us if not for the truth coming out, but I doubt a lot of things recently would have happened ei-"

She was cut off by the sound of a hearty slap and Ginny's disgusted shriek of "get your lips off of me you manky arsemonger!" Hermione quickly pulled the cucumber slices off of her eyes and dropped them down beside her to reveal Blaise Zabini nursing a pink, palm shaped mark on his cheek as Ginny held out her hand in a way that threatened further retaliation if he got any closer. Behind them, the four other Slytherin boys were doubled over with laughter, which came to a halt as Blaise protested that he'd only done it on a dare by Draco. He looked fearful of the redhead. He didn't notice the brunette approaching.

"Draco Malfoy, you foul, childish tosser!"

"Oh no," Theo wiggles his eyebrows expressively. "Looks like your 'thing' has come to an end Drake."

She was glad for the mud coating her features; it hid her blush. It also made her more intimidating, like some kind of swamp monster. "Ginny and I were having a nice night before you five arrived. I suggest you vacate the premises immediately, before we show you what pain _really_ is." Theo and Draco were shivering, and Crabbe and Goyle had gone downright green. Her roommate pulled on his friends' arm and they retreated back out the door, Theo's whisper to Draco of "wanker" barely audible as the blond turned his head back as if to ask her whether she was really mad at him or it was just part of the act. She just let out a sharp exasperated sigh through her nose. Boys...

* * *

When she'd said there was a "thing" developing between them his heart had quickened. When she had yelled at him it had almost stopped. He hated that she had this much control over him, and that he seemed to have almost none over her. To her they were just co-stars in a Hollywood film. He wanted to go bang as many girls as possible to get this one out of his head, but that would break the ruse, and worse, certainly for the long term, it would feel like a betrayal. Heart flutters. _Salazar..._ he was like a tween girl writing in her diary about her first crush. " _Oh Ginevra_!" Blaise delightedly moaned as he writhed and gyrated in his X-rated fantasy. Scratch that, he was acting like Zabini.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13:_**

Hermione avoided him like dragon pox all weekend, and though he knew she had a big test the next week, he suspected that wasn't the reason. As usual, she was early to Potions on Monday morning so he slid into the seat next to her, gesturing for Theo and Daphne to go sit together instead of with their usual partners. Obviously the two of them were more than happy with that agreement. She had her hair down, covering her face as she leaned over a piece of parchment and scribbled illegibly on it. Her handwriting was horrific. He was surprised she hadn't gotten Trolls for her O.W.L's just because the examiner gave up marking it! He staged a cough, but she continued to write. "Look, it may have been a bit immature," he conceded. "But I was trying to help a mate out. Blaise has been obsessing over Weaselettte for weeks." Her face was still hidden. "Why does this bother you so much?"

Her head snapped up. "Because, I thought you'd been putting on an act on all these years and I was finally getting to know the real you. But as it turns out you're just the same immature git you've always been."

His eyes narrowed angrily. "That's not fair. I've changed a lot, but it doesn't mean I have to glower alone in the dark constantly and can't ever have any fun with my friends." As Slughorn entered the room and strolled down the aisle jovially he lowered his voice a little. "What you said the other night was right. We would never have gotten close had the truth not come out. But that doesn't mean I never wanted to," his voice lowered even further as he muttered under his breath, "a fact Pansy has recently alerted me too." She seemed intrigued by this, but Slughorn had started talking. He glanced down at her parchment and realised it was titled ' _Dear Harry_ ', and that the letters were even spikier than usual. "That wasn't the part of the plan was it?"

She crumpled it up into a ball before he could read the rest. "Muggles sometimes do this thing where they write letters and then throw them in the fire instead of sending them. It's supposed to be therapeutic but I don't feel any better yet. Maybe I will once it's ash."

"Maybe you will once Potter's ash," he suggested alternatively in a whisper. Taking out his quill, he sketched a hybrid with the arse or well, an ass, and the head of a turkey, with big circular glasses and a jagged lightning scar on its forehead. He slid it across the table to Hermione and their hands touched briefly; it felt like an electric shock. Sniggering, Hermione tried to cover it up with a choking cough as Slughorn noticed and approached, concerned. The blond patted her back and made an excuse to the anxious professor for her, a small smirk on his face that he could evoke such a response.

* * *

It was such a rare lovely day that Ginny dragged Hermione outside after school to sunbathe by the lake. Well, _she_ sunbathed. Hermione studied. Both were distracted. _**"GERONIMO!"**_ paired with a tidal wave that splashed them, jarring them out of their respective activities and had them both scrambling backwards in horror!

"Merlin's beard Zabini," Ginny shook herself off like a dog. "How can you be such a twit? Did you get dropped on your head as a child? There's a _reason_ going into that lake was a challenge for the Triwizard Tournament- it's a death trap! There's mermaids, the giant squid and who knows what else!"

"But it's so refreshing!" Exclaimed Blaise as he lay on his back as if the soaked ground was an armchair.

Hermione turned around to see Draco behind her with his arms crossed and a mildly amused expression- which rapidly changed to disgust. "Another game of truth or dare?"

Morally outraged, he declared "never! I profusely discouraged this."

"Mm-hm," She mirrored his expression with her own folded arms and mimicked his casual stance.

"No, no, no!" Hermione spun back around as she heard her friend's screams. Blaise had crawled out of the lake and pushed Ginny in, jumping in right after her with a triumphant cackle.

Feeling his approach from behind her, Hermione warned Draco that if he did the same she would get her mother to castrate him. Evidently, it was a prospect even more terrifying than Voldemort as he shivered, but whispered into her ear, "actually, I was sent by my father to inform you that some gormless fanatic of a Ministry worker made the mistake of attempting a sermon to a group of wizards firmly on Team Hermione. They'd seen his poster, wanted: dead or alive, and decided to go with the former."

Hermione nodded, watching the two in the lake splash each other ferociously. "I hope they made him suffer."

"Oh," Draco chuckled darkly. "I did say they were Team Hermione. They ensured that the biggest victim in the Wizarding World since the Boy Who Lived got her justice."

"Excellent," she smirked. "Did your father mention any progress with the dementor situation? Mine has been less than forthcoming."

Draco shook his head. "The investigation is still ongoing. There is only a limited amount of people high enough to have access though, don't worry."

"I'm not worried." Ginny had finally managed to get back up onto the grass and was continuing to berate Blaise in her drenched state, but Hermione's focus was on the sky. The appearance of a jet black owl against the deep blue signified that she'd been right to trust Voldemort to handle this. It swooped up to the Owlry and she followed behind it, with only a brief wiggle of her fingers to the ginger girl.

* * *

Up in the tower Hermione fed her father's owl a quick treat and then unwound the letter tied to his leg.

 _My darling,_

 _After an intense investigation it appears that one of the aurors handling a case involved with the criminal department had access to dementors and sent it after you. However he has an airtight alibi for the time when you were targeted so Lucius and I suspect that there is a mole at Hogwarts who told him when you left and has been informing them on other information about you. Shacklebolt is currently still free and unaware that we know the truth about him. We will await your decision on how to deal with him but for the man who directly tried to drain your soul, I must advocate oblivion._

 _Watch out for a traitor,_

 _Your father._

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and tutted disapprovingly as she folded the letter back up and said, without turning around. "I had such hopes for our friendship Ginevra."

Behind her, a magically dried Ginny said, "I had hopes too. I thought I might be able to maintain the ruse long enough to get more information out of you than the obvious: that being that you're head over heels for the ferret." Watching her true disgust rear its head Hermione felt as though Ron was spitting at her feet all over again. But this time she didn't feel self pity or guilt. Just fury. "Maybe I would have that night if we hadn't been interrupted by your boyfriend and his dense dickhead crew."

"Dense people are the ones who don't think to bring back up," said a deep, pained voice in the shadows. Ginny's face briefly contorted in confusion before she was thrown to the floor by Blaise's curse.

Hermione frowned sympathetically at him. Clearly it wasn't just attraction; he'd really felt something for Ginny. She felt the same sinking disappointment. That was the last one of her friends gone. Her last hope for a continued friendship. The last piece of the girl who'd been Hermione Granger. It was high time to absolutely embrace the Riddle within.

 _ **Dun dun dun!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**_Chapter 14:_**

Yawning, Hermione strolled over to Ginny, who was finally waking up. "I thought Blaise had finished you off with a simple stupefy. Demonstrates an immense level of betrayal and hatred, really."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm the one who's been betraying people? You're the villainous _bitch_ who killed my brother! Your best friend!"

Hermione leant forwards. "I know you were also unconscious back then, but Ron killed himself. And I never knew about my biological parents. Every moment of friendship I ever had with you, or Harry or Ron was genuine, and I wanted nothing more than to continue it."

"But now that I've decided not to play your game of Happy Families, what are you going to do? Kill me?" Ginny was practically grinning. Dripping with anticipation for Hermione to prove her right.

"Nope," she pulled out her wand but kept her eyes on Ginny, reveling in her surprise. "After your parents and their friends kidnapped me my father sought revenge by killing their children- I'm sure if things hadn't gone wrong with Harry he would have come for you Weasleys as well," Ginny was putting on a brave face, but that was all it was. Just a little more was all it would take to crack her. "But the thing is, I wasn't killed. I was taken." She let the harshness of the statement sink in. To lose a child in such a way must have been agony. At least if they were dead then you knew it for certain. There was no hopeless searching, no worry about how they were being treated, missing every milestone in their fast paced life. "I've been thinking of ways to make your parents suffer, but I was holding off. I didn't want to hurt you." She pouted at the ginger, who was slowly coming to the realisation of what she was implying.

"I'm not a baby," Ginny pointed out. "You can't just send me off to live with someone else."

"I can if I use a memory charm."

Ginny's face plummeted. She still protesting, but it was obvious that she was terrified. "You're not powerful enough."

"I did it to my adoptive parents last summer."

"They're muggles! I'm a witch with nearly the same amount of magical education as you, who grew up actually surrounded by wizards!"

"And I'm the brightest one of our age!" Hermione said with a dazzling smile, pulling out her wand as Ginny writhed in the chains Blaise has conjured. "Time to see who's more powerful, I guess."

"Even if you do this Harry is coming for you. You can't escape the justice he is going to inflict for us all!"

Hermione shrugged. "He's taking his time. I think your hero would rather hide out and send threatening messages than actually face me." She pointed her wand between Ginny's eyes, savouring the way she struggled not to flinch. "See you on the other side Gin, or whoever you end up being."

* * *

"Is it done?" Asked Blaise, giving Hermione quite a shock as she shut the door to the Owlry. She hadn't expected him to wait there so long. She nodded. Ginny was sending an owl to her 'aunt'; a school friend of Narcissa's who lived in America. The ginger would live there in a room a similar size to Harry's cupboard under the stairs with who she'd believe to be her only remaining family. It was a tragedy really. She looked at the ever-suave Italian, who was unable to hide the sadness in his expression.

"We could find a way for you to be with her," she offered. "She would be willing now, I'm sure. You could go-"

Blaise interrupted her, "no. I couldn't. It wouldn't be real. I want Ginny Weasley, not a shell of her."

Hermione studied him. Draco's friend had always been a player, now at last it seemed he'd found someone he wanted to stick by it. It was just terrible that it had to be someone so disloyal. "We'll find you someone else," she promised with a small smile, but Blaise just frowned unconvinced.

* * *

As Hermione sat with her knees bunched up on the sofa, chewing on the end of her quill, Draco landed down beside her with a thump, knocking over the ink she'd left beside her. They both fumbled over it, apologising and reaching until their hands brushed and their eyes met. Then Hermione coughed and Draco cleared his throat before asking her what was wrong. "Nothing's wrong," she denied. "I'm just writing to my father."

"Something's wrong," he asserted. He grabbed the quill out of her hand, provoking an outraged shout, but she had to look at him. He could tell by the guarded expression in her eyes that this was something she'd been keeping to herself, but he was determined to get it out of her.

"Are you upset about Ginny?"

"No!" Sounded like he'd hit the nail on the head there. "We were never even that close," she said at a quieter volume, dipping her head, hiding behind her hair. She looked so vulnerable. Draco just wanted to stop pressing her and embrace her instead. But if he did she'd just push him away.

"But she was the last string tying to your past," he realised.

Hermione sighed. "When Blaise told me he didn't want her if she wasn't herself it did make me feel a little... uncomfortable. With who I've become. I've been saying they're the ones who turned on me, but maybe I've gone too far and I have become what they said I was."

"You're not a monster." He touched her face and she looked up into his eyes like a child searching for legs to grab onto. "You're not a demon. And who says you can't be both Amara Riddle and Hermione Granger? Just because your past doesn't want to hold onto you, it doesn't mean you have to throw it away."

She smiled at him and took his other hand. His heart leapt. She squeezed. "Thank you Draco. I never thought you could be such a great friend." Ouch. A solid friend zone. Crashing back down, he nodded, taking his hand off her cheek and standing up to return to his bedroom. "Now something's wrong with you," she observed. He shrugged, facing away from her. "Oh come on," she teased. "I thought we were soul-baring buddies now!"

"Maybe I don't want to be just buddies!" The snap was out before he could stop it, and with no time turner there was no way to take it back. He'd imagined scenarios of how she might respond, admittedly in them he'd always told her in a grand romantic way, rather than in their pyjamas in the common room, fumbling over his sentences. But her response wasn't how he'd imagined either. She did the one thing he'd not anticipated, because he knew she wasn't cruel enough to do it. She laughed. It wasn't in any way a malevolent laugh of course, and she stopped almost immediately when she saw his face, but that didn't mean it didn't sting. "I thought so." He moved towards his room but she called out his name, pulled him back into her by the arm. He started to protest but the words froze on his lips as they stood centimetres apart. It was like they'd been outside the Great Hall the day she'd announced her identity. So close. The possibility mere millimetres away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't- I don't know how I feel. I don't know how I should feel." How she should feel? There was no way she should feel, not if she wanted this like he did. "I've never been in a relationship before."

He did a double take. It was impossible. She was gorgeous, intelligent, brave, loving. "Neither of the Dazzling Duo?" She shook her head. "What about Krum?" When he thought back to them dancing at the Yule Ball now it made him want to go to Bulgaria and kick the Durmstrang boy's teeth in.

"Nothing ever really happened," she admitted. "We danced, we studied, he offered to take me to meet his parents: but that never ended up happening." Oh. So he could be her first boyfriend. "I know I do feel something for you, but I'm... scared of it." She was scared of him? Now he wanted to leave and set her free. He never wanted to upset her. If being without him was what it took then he would do it in a second. "If we were to have a real relationship we would either have to commit or go the opposite way. I can't ask you to be in a relationship without anything physical." For a moment he'd forgotten about the contract. Now it came back in a slamming headache. But he didn't care. He'd had enough physical. He just wanted her. He said as much. She grinned.

"This would the perfect time to sweep you off your feet and give you a victorious kiss,"

"Flipendo!" He stumbled back on his feet, laughing.

"Very funny!" Blushing, she giggled as well.

 ** _Jenisha: Hope you were screaming at this part too haha!_**

 ** _Vicky Gross: Thanks!_**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15:**_

 _ **AN: I just posted a new marriage law Dramione story, which is a bit more mature than this one, but I would be so grateful if you guys could check it out and tell me that you think. Thanks! Okay, now time for some adorable Dramione and creative revenge!**_

After their night of confessions the two Head students fell asleep on the sofa, not tangled up but close enough that they were lightly touching. It would have felt too divided in their separate bedrooms on either side of the common room. Hermione woke up first and managed to finish a reply to her father, take it up to the Owlry, send it off and return before her new boyfriend even woke up. He sure was a late sleeper, and she was about to go get dressed for the day when he moaned, rolling over and grabbing her leg to stop her moving. A _locomotor motis_ would have been more effective, but she got the message and stayed put. "It's Saturday," he announced in a yawn, his grey moon-like eyes looking up at her with such a wonder and joy it magnified her own. "We're having a date." Whilst a date was something she'd been on, a date with him was something else entirely. She wondered what he would even do on a date. Probably something extreme and impressive yet cultured, like use a port key to travel to Prague and tour the cathedrals or eat at a restaurant in Buenos Aires whilst street performers danced the tango, or maybe even Paris, the city of love, to climb the Eiffel Tower. "Right from this sofa." At her bewildered look, he elaborated. "A muggle date, with classic muggle date food and a classic muggle romantic, what are they called-?"

"Films? On a TV?" She prompted, a tiny smile on her face. "There's one at my house?"

"Yes," he took his wand from where he'd left it on the table and _accio_ 'd her television. With a little help, he picked out a John Hughes rom-com from her family's cabinet of films; although at first he'd been tricked by the cover of one of her mum's workout DVD's. Then he called out for someone called Nobky, and to Hermione's surprise a house elf materialised right in front of them. "Yes, Master Draco, how can Nobky help you?"

"It's just Draco now," she cast a look at him, and he explained that the elf had worked for the Black family, then when the sisters had all gone their separate ways and their father was left alone he had decided to get rid of most of his servants, as there was too many for a man living alone. He'd sent them to Hogwarts, where extra help was always needed. "What do you eat on a date then?" Asked Draco. Hermione wanted to laugh at his blatant nerves. It was sweet. He wanted this to be perfect.

"Well, if we're going to 'the cinema': popcorn or ice cream, or sweets." The elf instantly disapparated and returned moments later with a huge sack of food which she knocked over onto the table. "Oh gosh!" Hermione exclaimed as she saw the immense collection of unhealthy breakfast. "We'd better get cracking!"

Draco popped a piece of salted popcorn in his mouth, and then he popped the film in, he tried at least. She had to go give him a hand. "I promise we'll go somewhere epic for the second date," he said apologetically.

"Confident!" She chuckled.

" _Slytherin_ ," he corrected, pointing to himself.

Then she paused, thinking about why he would be apologetic. "You're still trying to keep me inside?"

"Just wait a little longer," he said. "Your plans for Shacklebolt are taking shape, but he's currently still loose. It would be reckless and stupid to go out now when the threat is almost neutralised and get attacked."

Now she pointed to her own chest. " _Gryffindor._ "

"I know," he smiled dazedly. "That's shockingly one of the things I love most about you." Her eyes clearly flashed with panic at hearing **the L word** before they'd pressed play on the movie because he reiterated at a louder volume. " _About!_ Anyway..." he deflected. "I know our parents are desperate for us to be together, but that doesn't mean they won't violently murder me if I cock up and they lose the girl they just found again."

He did have a point; several in fact. "Fine." Reluctantly she admitted, "this is lovely anyway. _Real_ muggle first dates are usually awkward, cheap and mundane."

"Should I be insulted?" He considered as he grabbed a tub of ice cream and two spoons, handing her one and using the other to dig in himself.

"Shove off!" She chuckled and pressed play, settling her head onto his shoulder and letting out an exhale she felt she'd been holding onto forever as the opening credits played.

* * *

Voldemort grinned when he saw the approaching Hogwarts owl swooping over the grounds of Malfoy Manor. It came to rest on his arm and he took the letter, eager to know what Amara wanted done to the man he currently wanted to kill more than any other. As he scanned the details he called out to both Lucius and Bellatrix, knowing he would need help for this. His daughter was certainly a fan of reciprocal revenge.

* * *

Kingsley Shacklebolt pushed down the flush on the toilet he used daily to get to work. Honestly, he hated still going into the corrupt Ministry every day and pretending he agreed with these bigoted villains, but he was dedicated to the Order. He'd only met Hermione Granger once or twice but he'd never suspected her true heritage, not having been one of the select few who'd known. He didn't hold any grudges against them for not telling him. Albus Dumbledore was a hero and he'd made the right choice keeping those who knew to a minimum to prevent the truth getting out as long as possible. Kingsley just felt bad for those poor kids who'd befriended her before knowing the truth about her. It had been his idea to use the dementors Voldemort had recently turned to terrorism for good, to stamp out her filth. Molly had put him in contact with her daughter who was undercover at Hogwarts. The Weasley matriarch has been uncomfortable with the choice to remain, as would any reasonable parent, but Ginny had insisted. And her information had proved invaluable so far. It was just unfortunate that the Malfoy boy had stopped the attack, but Kingsley was confident it wouldn't happen again. Ginny said Hermione had confided in her about the attack and her father's condition, but she'd also said You-Know-Who's daughter was stubborn and sooner or later she'd sneak out.

As Kingsley walked out into the atrium of the Ministry he felt a chill settle over him and pulled his robes tighter around his shoulders. He noticed that others around him were too, and briefly wondered why before all thoughts of anything other than miserable depression flooded him. All casual chatter came to an abrupt halt and swooping down from the rafters before he even saw them, dementors. He struggled for his wand but couldn't find it. Panic overtaking him, the last thing he saw was Lucius Malfoy snapping it before he took a long gasping breath then screamed in agony.

 ** _And another one bites the dust!_**

 ** _Guest: I know right! The macarena is the worst!_**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16:**_

Life was perfectly idyllic in his little bubble with Fleur's family, but Harry knew he couldn't stay here forever. When he received Mrs Weasley's owl about Kingsley and Ginny he saw red. He immediately packed up the few things he'd had on his back when he'd arrived and headed for the door, but Madame Delacour caught him on the way out. "'Arry!" She protested, wrestling his bag out of his arms and seating him at the breakfast table with a selection of croissants, spreads and fresh deli meats. "You are 'ere to make a plan and get stronger. And as soon as you 'ave eaten you vil, but ze brain does not verk vithout fuel." For once he wasn't hungry. When he grabbed a pastry he squeezed it in his fist, his plan containing only two words. _Avada kedavra._

* * *

Humming to herself, Hermione moved her pile of finished homework to the side and called out to her boyfriend. She'd been working all day and he'd had Quidditch practise but this evening they'd decided to go down to Hogsmeade with his friends. She would admit that she was nervous. Whilst she'd spent a fair amount of time with some of them; Blaise, Theo and Daphne in particular, she hadn't been exposed to them all at the same time, and whilst she was sure they wouldn't be against her now here was a history of animosity between them. She also didn't want them to suck up to her just because they served her father. It was even more important to her than it had ever been now that she was legitimately dating Draco. Lacing his fingers through hers, they walked hand in hand down to the hill, where they'd agreed to meet the other Slytherins. Theo's whisper was tickling Daphne's ear as she ducked her head with a blush. Blaise was making a joke, presumably about them, to Pansy, whose arms were crossed over her chest in a bored stance, a snort breaking the illusion of nonchalance. Crabbe and Goyle were privy to the joke as well, but neither of them seemed to get it. "Oh great! Another touchy couple!" Pansy bemoaned as the two of them approached, but there was a small smile on her face and it was apparent that she was neither jealous nor outraged.

"Don't fret Pans," Draco reassured her. "We're pretty tame compared to those sex animals over there." That was one advantage of not being able to touch each other; no-one could complain that they were touching each other!

As they strolled down to the village Hermione got to know each of her boyfriend's friends as real people. Blaise was as jovial as ever, but she could read the subdued tension- today was the day Ginny had left the school. Daphne had been the nicest of the Slytherins to Hermione in the past. They'd never been friends or anything, but they'd worked together professionally on projects in class. The blonde bombshell was kind and inclusive, asking Hermione lots of questions about herself and genuinely seeming like she wanted to know the answers. Her boyfriend was surprisingly sweet as well. Theo might have seemed like a tough guy at first, but he was a teddy bear really, at least he was with Daphne beside him. Crabbe and Goyle were incredibly apologetic for their behaviour over the years, but once they got past that she could see that rather than just being Draco's indistinguishable minions, they were true friends to every member of the group. At first Pansy seemed a little cold; she spent most of the walk down observing Hermione, which was a little unnerving. Near the bottom of the hill she drew the muggleborn aside. Somewhat scared, Hermione cast an anxious look at Draco, but he just gave her an amused thumbs up and turned back to his other friends. The dark haired Slytherin fixed her with a stern look, "How do you feel about Drake?" Caught off guard, Hermione stuttered and blushed, which was clearly good enough for Pansy. Her frown flipped. "Perfect. He has been subconsciously wanting to be with you for years so even if you are the Dark Lord's daughter, if you were just messing around with him for a bit of fun I would have to end you."

Hermione laughed nervously, but there would be no issue there. She truly did feel things for Draco, even if when he'd told his friends about the relationship it had been a trick.

* * *

Daphne suggested they go to Madame Puddifoot's, which won a vote of approval from Pansy, Draco and of course Theo, although the other boys begged Hermione to side with them, that it was a place for old geezers. Daphne argued that it was civilised and delicious compared to the two dingy pubs- the worst of the two was even worse than usual since Aberforth Dumbledore had gone on the run from her family. Harry and Ron had always been more interested in pie and bitterness than tea and cake, so Hermione decided to break the tie by agreeing they should go to Madame Puddifoot's for a change of scenery, away from the ghosts of the past.

The decor was cosy and homey, and the delicious smell of baked goods upon arrival told her she'd made the right choice. The seven of them settled down at a table in the corner and studied a menu as they chatted about a post graduation tour of their family's villas in San Sebastián, the Bahamas and Monaco. Hermione was still deciding whether to get a chocolate eclair or a strawberry tart with her toastie when there was a loud crash and Draco yanked her under the table as the others turned to face the door. Though she was unsure if she would have spoken, Draco covered her open mouth with his hand anyway and bit his own lip. The attacker directed everyone outside, but her boyfriend still had a hold of her and stopped her from following them. They listened from their position to the magnified voice from outside. "Residents of Hogsmeade," said an uncomfortably familiar voice that made Hermione bristle. She almost thought that Dumbledore's ghost had returned to allow her to punish him for his sins. "I know it may seem like the resistance has disappeared but I'm braving capture today to remind you that we have not." She glowered, reaching for her wand but Draco shook his head.

He lifted the tablecloth a little and allowed her a brief glance at the crowd assembled outside. "He's brought an army, and who knows how many of the people here will stay loyal in such a situation. Besides," he added when he saw that she was about to protest. "He's no Ginny. He's an incredibly advanced wizard."

"We're going to lose him," she hissed. More than that, she wanted to kill him herself. Not just because of his own personal crimes but because he was the closest she could ever get to punishing the ringleader of her misery.

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Draco, pulling up his sleeve and pressing down on the Dark Mark there. Hermione sucked in a shocked breath. Harry had been obsessed with the idea that his rival had the symbol last year, but to see it on his flesh was nonetheless shocking

"We aren't just hiding in fear! We gave food to those terrified of attack, we helped Harry Potter and Ron Weasley escape capture at Malfoy Manor, and got our saviour to safety while he prepares for battle." That was why Dobby had appeared when she'd told them the truth. "And he will return. Never doubt that Harry Potter-"

A swift whistle of wind. Screams. The deadly Lord Voldemort's voice. " **Doubt.** " Hermione reached for the tablecloth again, Draco allowed it, although he edged over as well. "People of Hogsmeade, have no fear that anarchists will be dealt with immediately. Enjoy your day." With such an abrupt dismissal, everyone scattered, Aberforth's supporters melting into the village away from the body that lay cold on the floor. As Hermione crawled out from underneath the table and met her father's worried eyes she couldn't hide the disappointment in them. Dumbledore had gotten away scot-free, and though punishing his brother personally wouldn't have solved that, perhaps it would have given her some small sense of closure. Now she would never know.

 ** _Poor Hermione! She just wants her own revenge!_**

 ** _MacarenaGuest: You're welcome for the memories?_**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17:**_

Unfortunately for Hermione's plan, only one of the Weasley children had refused to stay home as their parents begged. But she could work with that. Bill and Fleur had disappeared to marital bliss, she assumed. Fred and George had shut up their newly opened joke shop. Loyal to his job over anything else to the end, Percy had stayed on at the Ministry until Ginny's disappearance but now he was gone too. She supposed she should have acted sooner, but, presumably Charlie thought he was safe several countries away, because intelligence had found him still in Romania recruiting foreign wizards. Working with dragons was a dangerous job and accidents were bound to happen, but she knew Molly and Arthur would know it was nothing of the sort when news reached them that their second eldest had been attacked not by any of the dragons he worked with but a Catalonian Fireball. He'd escaped with a lot of burns and one less arm, in an awful lot of agony, but she knew it would serve to further break down the Weasleys despite the fact that he retained his life . By the time Harry returned, if he ever did, all their hope would be eroded.

* * *

The next few weeks were characterised by focus rather than fun for everyone, not just Hermione. It had been a rather disruptive year and they were all hoping the exam board would go easy on them; indeed, exams had been delayed until later than usual, but regardless they were now fixed and inescapable. First up was Dark Arts, or as her father would have preferred it to be called, _Grey Arts_. It did surprise Hermione that the new subject contained many things she'd learnt already in Defence and a lot of spells she'd personally used both to attack and defend. Whereas in her O.W.L year she'd left panicked that she'd mistranslated in Ancient Runes, this time it was Arithmancy that had her screaming into her pillow. The nerves that this wasn't something she'd been able to practise whilst on the run had gotten to her, making her feel like she'd neglected it, and she ended up writing down the heart number instead of the social number for the final question! Theo, who'd taken the same exam and so was the first to hear her horror as they left the Great Hall, patted her back somewhat fearfully- she was rather passionately cursing- and reminded her it was just one question. "But if I made that simple mistake what's saying I didn't make more? At least I did some Ancient Rune translations when I was bored and missing half the school year. I did no Arithmancy whatsoever! I've gotten rusty!"

Theo rubbed her back comfortingly. "If worst comes to worst you can always retake next year." Hermione's eyes flew wide and she pulled away from him, standing frozen with a look of abject horror. "Or... not?"

* * *

His girlfriend seemed to manage to put her absurd worries of failure to the side to finish the last couple of exams, and once they were over they decided to move onto the last phase of the plan. Even though the news would surely spread even if they did the proposal in a cupboard, Draco thought it would be most believable to the prejudiced Order who believed him to be a spoiled rich boy, to make it grand. "How do I look?" He turned to see her posing in the stairway leading down from her bedroom in her graduation dress robes and cap. It was the one time of the year all students dressed united in black rather than their house colours, and while he'd love to see her in a Slytherin tie just once, this was pretty good too.

"Accomplished."

She cocked her head to the side with a mischievous grin. "Do go on."

"Incandescent."

"Mm?"

"Gorgeous." If they were in one of those muggle rom-coms she'd shown him, she should have kissed him then. If they were even any other real life couple in any other situation. He could see it. Her leaping into his arms with a dazzling beam and snogging his face off. Instead she just gave him a thankful smile and looked away with a faint blush painted on her cheeks. _Merlin's beard._ Salazar's snakes. Ron Weasley crumbling to ashes. Yep- that worked-, as long as he kept his eyes clenched shut at least.

* * *

If anyone was surprised to see He Who Must Not Be Named at graduation they kept their lips zipped and their eyes focused on their own children. Voldemort sat in the front row between Bellatrix, who was openly weeping, and the Malfoys; thankful that whilst he may not have been there to see his daughter off on the Hogwarts Express when she was eleven, he was at least here now at the end of the journey. He felt himself tearing up as after Draco's, she delivered her own Head speech about how Hogwarts had shaped her from a lonely bookworm into a fear inducing warrior. About how for the majority of her time she hadn't known the truth about herself, but that she would never take any of that time back or missed out on those meaningful relationships, even if every one had fallen through now. About how these past few months Hogwarts had become somewhere new for her. The place where she'd fallen in love. A resounding "aw" echoed through the crowded hall. As well as parents, many younger students had come to see this particularly influential year off. They were certainly good actors, the Dark Lord thought with a twinkle in his blood red eyes as he watched his daughter and her betrothed exchange a doleful-eyed look.

* * *

At the edge of the Black Lake the graduates, clutching their diplomas, watched as the two Head students cast fireworks into the sky. Hermione let out a delighted sigh and dropped her wand, but Draco's was still pointed upwards. Everyone watched as the words "marry me?" burst into a rainbow of colours and hung in the sky. Voldemort could see that the tears that streamed down Hermione's face were happy, and they truly looked genuine too. "I know we hadn't been together long," Draco declared in front of his whole class and their families. "But you're all I want Hermione. If I'm being honest with myself I think you're all I've ever wanted. We don't have to get married right away but I wanted to at lea-"

"Of course I'll marry you!" Hermione flung himself into a hug, to the chants of "kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Voldemort refused to let his daughter be pushed into a relationship she could never get out of, even if he could now see that at some point this charade had turned true. He was ready to unleash some unforgivables, but instead he watched his daughter's face as she dipped her head into Draco's shoulder and then lifted it, their lips were so close they could have been meeting, and they stood a way from everyone else, so the illusion was real enough to provide thunderous applause and a lot of hooting from the Slytherin's friends.

As people crowded into boats, Draco and Hermione were given their own and floated off into the sunset with their arms wrapped around each other. It felt like the definite end of a chapter, maybe even a book. But of course there'd be a sequel.

 _ **End of Part 2! The last sentence is a metaphor by the way, there isn't going to be a sequel but there's still Part 3 left. Don't worry ;)**_


	18. Part III: Chapter 18

_**Part 3**_

 _ **Chapter 18:**_

Planning for a wedding, even a magical fake one, was an arduous task. It had taken some time, but the band and venue were booked, the food was ordered, the wedding party's outfits had been chosen, the invites were sent and the newspapers had all been sent statements. The couple had even done a photo shoot for one of them in a field of blooming flowers. If that didn't get Harry's attention and anger him enough to come crash the wedding she wasn't sure what would.

Today Hermione was getting her wedding dress. Of course, as this was the wedding of Voldemort's daughter and the Malfoy heir it had to be spectacular, so Bellatrix, Narcissa and her bridesmaids had accompanied her via apparition to the fashion capital of the world to discover her perfect couture dress.

It was both a thrilling and exhausting day, starting early with a cappuccino and cornetto in a cafe, Narcissa encouraged them to get energy any way they could for the long day ahead. Then it was on to the tailor where her body was slathered with an array of materials: chiffon and satin; lace and tulle; charmeuse and organza. They all came in a variety of shades of white, cream, rose or ivory. Once she'd decided on the colour (champagne) and ruled out a couple of materials (charmeuse was too slinky alone, organza too heavy for the warm weather), the tailor made a few designs and showed her some samples he had already. They were all gorgeous but nothing was quite working until Pansy confidently took a sheet of paper and sketched something herself. Looking at it, Hermione immediately knew this was what she wanted, and all the women with her gushed over it too. The tailor bristled a little, but even he admitted that every line and detail suited Hermione perfectly. Using his wand to summon the fabrics, he promised to have it done before he closed shop.

The whole morning had, at some times flown and others dragged, by and it was lunch time. Narcissa wanted to keep up the pace but Bellatrix was complaining of a growling stomach and convinced the stern lipped fashion guru to relent, shooting Hermione a wink as she led them into a pizzeria. The girls couldn't decide and Narcissa was about to have a heart attack so Daphne suggested they each have two slices of each pizza, an idea which was met with resounding applause, although Bellatrix seemed rather put out that no-one would share an anchovy pizza with her. Hermione was about ready to disown her when she begged for that atrocity.

"You really should think about a job in design," Hermione suggested to Pansy as they waited for the food to arrive and Narcissa checked her designer Swiss watch compulsively every two minutes.

The dark haired Slytherin blushed. "You think so?" She shrugged. "I never really thought seriously about a job. I know that's cocky," there was a certain respect to be found in the way she owned it. "But it's just the way it is. My family's not as minted as Draco's, but we're pretty well-off and so's Marcus'. Plus he wants to be a Quidditch player so that'd bring in a lot."

If he made it to the big leagues he'd be away a lot. "That sounds lonely. Maybe it would be nice to have something to spend your time on rather than lounging around the manor endlessly."

For a moment she thought Pansy would stomp her down with the heel of her studded shoe. But the stormy look faded to a contemplative one and she nodded. Their food arrived at that point, and then it was onto shoes, a quick gelato break, then back to the tailor's. The Italian wizard emerged from a back room with an excited smile on his face when he heard the bell announcing their arrival. "It is in the dressing room," he directed her to it, and she headed in there, with a quick thumbs up to the others. Pansy's creation was truly stunning. Delicate floral embroidery over a champagne top that flowed into a tulle skirt, with charmeuse sleeves ending in the same floral pattern that was repeated occasionally on the skirt which spun around her as she twirled delightedly for her adoring crowd of onlookers. Bellatrix was crying, but it wasn't just her this time. No-one was completely dry-eyed, even Pansy looked emotional at the sight of her first creation come to life.

"Oh sweetheart," Bellatrix's lip trembled, but she produced a piece of jewellery from her bag steadily enough. "This is another family heirloom, even better than that remedy I gave you when we met!" Hermione laughed, it was then that she realised she was also sobbing. The bracelet slid over the hand with her engagement ring from Draco, it was absolutely stunning.

"Mum!" Hermione trilled and held out her arms for a hug, to the distressed squeals of _"NO!"_ from everyone else, Pansy and the tailor the loudest of all. "You'll wrinkle it."

* * *

"Come look at this," Draco's father bade him when the new graduate entered the room. He and the Dark Lord were gathered around a copy of the Daily Prophet, an uncomfortable frown on his father's face and a downright scowl on Voldemort's. Wishing that he could just back out of the room and go back to debating the pros and cons of ties versus bow ties with his groomsmen, he obediently took a look at the newspaper.

 _Ghoulish Groundskeeper Gathers Gang_

 _Rita Skeeter_

 _Ex-Hogwarts Groundskeeper and expelled student Rubeus Hagrid has long been one of the Boy Who Lived's strongest supporters but for the past few months, aside from resigning his role, he has seemed to stay neutral. It now appears that he has in fact been trying to find and then gather support from his monsterous mother's family by trying to infiltrate the giants. Unfortunately for him, the giants have already sworn loyalty to our Dark Lord, and his mangled corpse was found among their other food remains. I'm sure I speak for all my readers when I say, good riddance!_

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Why are you both so distressed? The giants dealt with our problem for both of us."

Lucius shook his head. "The giants informed us of this a little while ago, we gave them a sacrifice in exchange for the oaf."

Draco took a moment to digest this. "You still have him?"

His father nodded. "In the dungeons. The public cannot know. We cannot allow him to garner any sympathy, but what do you think Amara would want to do?"

The door swung open, and the girl in question strode through in a blaze of fiery passion, two huge shopping bags in her hands. "I think Amara would want to choose, herself, what to do."

 ** _AN: Don't you try and make decisions for ma strong independent woman!_**

 ** _Jenisha: Glad you enjoyed it :)_**


	19. Chapter 19

**_Chapter 19:_**

Hermione stood in front of the three powerful men with her hands on her hips and a disapproving expression as though they were toddlers. "Of course darling," Voldemort said hastily. "We only meant that you had been under a lot of stress already to deal with these things and uh..." he trailed off under her expectant glare.

"Just because I'm getting f-" she paused, she'd been about to say fake, forgetting that Pansy and Daphne were just behind her. "Married. It doesn't mean he's going to be making my decisions for me. I'm not a Pure-Blood. I grew up in muggle society, where we've actually only recently started _dealing_ with sexism, but I'm confident that the Wizarding World will follow, because I'm going to make it." Lucius smirked at this display, reminded of the crazy haired woman who was one of the most downright terrifying creatures he'd ever encountered. "Before I can do that, I want to deal with everyone who's wronged me. Now it's Hagrid's turn." She dumped her shopping on the table, with a quick dark warning to Draco to stay away from it on pain of death, and then she marched down to the dungeons, her Amazon warrior passion fading with every step into the dark abyss where everything had really gone wrong. She'd had hope until that point. Halfway down the spiral staircase she had to stop and put her hands on either side of the walls, shutting her eyes and taking three long deep breaths. Feeling a tap on her shoulder she spun her head to yell at someone, but Draco held up his hands in surrender.

"I'm not here to micro-manage you," he promised. "But married or not, I'll always be here when you need support." In the darkness his grey eyes still somehow seemed to glow hopefully and she had to look away; her only response, to allow him to follow her down. What at first she thought was a grunting walrus appeared to be her old friend snoring. Draco had cast a _lumos_ with his wand on the way down, leaving hers free to poke the half giant with through the bars as she whispered "wakey-wakey!" The Groundskeeper grunted in response and rolled over on his side to face away from her. Hmphing, Hermione said, with a little more force than was probably necessary, " _rennervate!_ " Causing Hagrid to jerk instantly awake, calling out a shocked "' **ermione!** " Before he gathered his wits and remembered the events of the past few months. Then he looked appropriately terrified.

A slightly unnerving smile on her face, she greeted him and then got down to business. "You chose to side with Harry, and as a loyal friend to both him and the Weasleys I'm assuming you know where they are." Hagrid had managed to slide on a brave mask now, he had been in Gryffindor after all. "Silent treatment? That's fine. I have no problem pulling a location out of you the hard way. _Crucio_." It was the first Unforgivable she'd ever used on anyone, so she was surprised by its effectiveness. Maybe it was in her genes, or maybe her wealth of emotions were being channelled into it. Either way, the result was Hagrid screaming in ear-splitting agony on the floor, curled up in a twisted ball. It gave her a perverse sense of pleasure to realise she was capable of such advanced magic. "Where. Are. They." Giving him a brief reprieve to realise the true pain of the torture compared to normalcy, she crouched down.

"Not here," he panted out.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco. "Well obviously, otherwise they wouldn't be a problem."

"Not in the country."

"Gonna need a little more detail than that. _Zoom in_." No response. "What do you think Draco, is he ready for round two?" Her boyfriend sneered, sounding his agreement. This time the torture curse went on for longer, until Hermione realised that casting it was hurting her as well. She stopped for a moment, but when he gave her no further information had to resume, had to work through the pain.

"He's not going to last much longer," Draco warned her nonchalantly, not as an order to stop, just a reminder that she should change tack if she wanted more information. To be perfectly honest, she wasn't sure Hagrid had anymore. She kept going. Not for long though. Soon enough, the hands covering Hagrid's contorted face dropped to his sides and it fell to a slack expression. She frowned and asked Draco to get her father to kill him now to put him out of his suffering, she wasn't quite ready for that curse yet.

* * *

The family of redheads had arrived at the Delacour villa at long last, along with the Lupin family and Professor Moody. Harry's plan hadn't evolved much beyond the killing curse, but he did know he needed help to get there. She was sure to be well guarded, even at a celebration. Eurgh, it made him want to throw up thinking of her marrying the ferret and living happily ever after with little blond ferret babies born with snake tattoos on their skin. He was determined it wouldn't be allowed to happen. He'd fought for the Wizarding World long enough, now it was time for _his_ justice. Admittedly, he would look a whole lot more intimidating with more backup. "I'd hoped for a slightly larger army," said Harry disappointedly when the others settled down _dans le salon._ Madame Delacour handed out cups of tea and Gabrielle grinned at them all as she provided macaroons. No-one said anything else until the far too underage witch had been escorted out of the room.

"We're sorry Harry," said Tonks as she rocked the baby he'd been named godfather of in her arms. "But it's about to get even smaller." She looked at her husband for support, and he squeezed her shoulder to let her know he was there. "Since Remus and I had Teddy we've looked at things differently than we might have otherwise." She looked into her son's wide eyes. "He's an innocent, just like Hermione was."

Harry clenched his fists, barely holding himself back from flying into a rage. "She was never an innocent, she's always been a manipulative monster!" He turned on his favourite DADA professor, pointing an angry finger. "She's the reason my father's dead, your best friend! She's the reason Ron's dead!"

The twins were frowning, as they said in synch, "hold on a minute Harry." "Your Dad was killed by You-Know-Who, and Ron was killed by his own reflected curse," Finished George.

"I know!" Harry shouted in frustration. "I was there for both events! But it was still her fault!"

Fred shook his head. "I don't see how."

Harry wanted to go scream into a cupboard, but he took a deep breath and momentarily let it go. "Has Charlie made any progress with foreign wizards? What about Hagrid with the giants?"

Everyone's faces fell and he knew he was about to get some terrible news. "Charlie's gained some support," Molly explained. "Limited, because of the propaganda they're spreading, but strong nonetheless," she reassured him. He nodded, waiting for the other foot to drop. "H-Hagrid's dead." A tear streamed down Harry's face.

"How can you deny it now?" He begged in desperation. "They killed him."

"No Harry, they didn't," said Lupin gently. "It was the giants. He knew they were dangerous when he took on the job-"

"Giants my arse!" Harry yelled. "They got rid of him. It's clear as day." He was losing them. Fred and George were exchanging a look. Tonks moved slightly closer to Lupin.

"I agree with yer," Moody declared passionately, and Molly did too, her husband a little more reluctantly following suite. She sounded off that if Ginny and Ron were here they would have fought tooth and nail, but the twins remained unconvinced and a newly pregnant Fleur held Bill's hand without saying anything. Percy agreed, ready to return the Ministry to its former glory. It wasn't an army. It was barely a resistance.

 _ **AN: Thanks to the guest feedback last chapter, you guys were totally right about the first paragraph so I've edited it to make it into several smaller ones :)**_


	20. Chapter 20

**_Chapter 20:_**

A loud magical horn blasted Draco awake and he curled up, hands over his ears, blinking bleary eyed at his four ex-roommates surrounding him, identical wicked grins on their faces. He tried to ask what the hell they thought they were doing, but it came out as an incoherent yawning blabber. "Come on stud!" Yelled Theo, pulling him up. "It's bachelor party time!" Oh dear.

"I thought these things are supposed to be fun," he whined as his friends shoved him towards a pile of clothes. A quick glance at the clock told him that yep, it was only 7am.

"Don't you want to have one last wild adventure with us?" Asked Blaise mischievously, then pouted. "You won't have any time for us once you're in domestic bliss." _Little did they know how little would really change._

"So where are we going then?" He asked, now fully dressed, but instead of an answer, his response was a blindfold over his eyes.

"Wait and see," Theo chuckled.

Draco mentally rolled his eyes. "Your hands smell like piss, Vince."

His friend took an audible sniff and then Greg whispered something, which he responded to with a short, "Oh."

* * *

"A strip club?" Draco raised an eyebrow as he stared at the scantily clad women. "This isn't very adventurous mates. I've got to say, I'm a little disappointed by your basic-ness." Greg wiggled his own eyebrows and pointed to the stage, where five incredibly gorgeous women who Draco felt nothing for strutted down a catwalk holding the new Nimbus 2003's. They weren't even supposed to be released for another year. Now this was something he could slobber over. Vince walked over to the door and opened it, revealing- not much. It was pretty dark. "Where are we?"

"Niagara Falls at just past 1am," announced Theo with an air of spectacular pride. And it was impressive. Certainly explained the dreadful stomach turning Portkey transportation- Greg and Vince had both failed their apparition tests so global travel was harder with the two of them. "Come on then!" His friend grabbed a broom. "What are we waiting for? We don't want to miss the sunrise!" His friends were nerds, but he loved them for it. Even if he'd never admit it in so many words to their faces.

* * *

Hermione's bachelorette party found her at a property of the Malfoys, smashed out of her tree. This was a deliberate choice, because she had been dragged to said bachelorette party by her two bridesmaids, and because said bridesmaids were the only people there that she knew. It certainly made it easier to play wizard drinking games and dance like she was a plastered teenage girl when she really was one. The night was a flash of levitating ping pong balls, drunken declarations of love and cackling laughter but the next morning she woke up in a sprawl of teenage Slytherins she barely knew, feeling rather bonded to them. "Happy wedding day darling!" She also had a headache with a vengeance. Bellatrix and Narcissa came striding into the trashed living room with a jug full of thick brown liquid. "Another family classic," her mother chortled. "Hangover potion. We always loved to party, didn't we Cissa?" Her voice was like a foghorn, so Hermione readily glugged down the mixture, even as she choked on its awful taste.

"This is the most disgusting thing I've ever consumed!" Exclaimed Pansy, who was clutching at her heart dramatically.

"Well, girls," announced Narcissa, ignoring their distress. "Now it's time for some muggle culture." She couldn't keep the surprise at what she was saying out of her voice, nor could the Slytherins their mild disgust.

Hermione, though, turned to her mother with a laugh. "Is this why you were asking me about Muggle hangover cures the other day?"

Bellatrix nodded. "You don't miss anything sweetheart! We thought it'd be ironic to give you the-obviously much more effective- wizard cure first." She had to admit, the potion was already working its magic. She felt pretty good.

Hermione's muggle parents had told her in a letter responding to her news of the Yule Ball, unsure of how wild and college-like this institution's parties were, that she should make sure she drank lots of water with her alcohol and take it slow, but that if she did get hungover she should have a full English breakfast with the works the next morning: sausage; bacon; fried egg; baked beans; toast; black pudding, all served with a nice warm mug of tea and a refreshing glass of orange juice. The witches might not like much muggle culture, but they were all impressed by the display at the dining table. Hermione wasn't sure she'd be able to fit into her wedding dress though- luckily the ceremony wasn't until the evening so she had plenty of time to let her food go down and prepare to see Harry again.

* * *

After their magical, in every sense of the word, sunset chasing broomstick ride, Draco and his groomsmen transported back to the UK and slept a good long while: international portkey travel caused immense jet lag. When they woke up the next morning it was his wedding day. Not his _real_ wedding day, of course. That didn't stop the swooping butterflies in his stomach.

Suit, on. Vows, written and memorised. Groomsmen and bridesmaids, paired up, including his mother and aunt because of Hermione's lack of loyal friends. Wand, ready and in his back pocket ready for Potter. He felt like he was forgetting something.

"Come on Drake!" Shouted Greg, his friends were already in the party mood. He only hoped they were sober enough to help with the plan they had no clue about. "You're gonna miss your own wedding day!"

"And the Ministry destroyed all the time-turners, remember?" Pointed out Vince. He let his friends wrestle him jovially out of the room, down to the Manor's gardens, where the ceremony would be taking place.

* * *

It was 7 o'clock, but the sun was still beating down beautifully, filling every unsuspecting guest with a sense of warmth and joy. It would be a perfect day for a real wedding. Draco found himself fidgeting, unaware he was even doing so until his father placed a hand on his arm with a stern expression not to disappoint the Malfoy name. Luckily at that point Blaise gave the band the go-ahead as they began to play the Wizarding wedding march. Blaise and Pansy. Theo and Daphne, of course. Vince and his mother. Greg and Bellatrix, both boys looking downright terrified as the women clutched onto their arms with beaming smiles. There was a pregnant pause where the music swelled and then there she was, walking down the aisle with her father. For once, Lord Voldemort didn't monopolise all eyes in a room. Everyone was fixed on his faux fiancée. Her wild curls were tamed a little by Sleekeazy and her features were enhanced by natural makeup, but it wasn't that, or the spectacular dress that made her glow to him. Her laughing amber eyes spoke directly to his soul. Her tense upper body language, clearly not visible to any of their cooing guests, made him want to throttle Potter before he even got here. Her smile that remained as innocent today as it had when she'd been the know-it-all Mudblood he'd thought he'd despised. No matter what she did, to him it always would.

And then she was next to him. Voldemort clutched his shoulder and gave him a convincingly threatening warning to look after his only child, which made Draco shiver, before patting him on the back with a smile. She laughed, and it was all he could focus on. Oh Salazar, when had this woman overtaken him so completely? He needed to keep an eye out, but she was all encompassing. He said his lines like the perfect actor, but he never looked away from her, so it was a genuine surprise when midway through his heartfelt vows he heard a sarcastic slow clap.

"Touching, for a heartless snake." Every head in the garden snapped to Potter, who stood with his small vigilante army, looking like the true villain of the story at this picture perfect wedding. Wands were outstretched, tension stretched on, and then Hermione slumped against him. The plan crashed to the floor, utterly forgotten.

 ** _AN: Thanks for 100 reviews! Do keep them coming but no flames please. Positivity or constructive criticism would be great :)_**


	21. Chapter 21

**_Chapter 21:_**

 ** _AN: Enjoy the penultimate chapter, s_ _traight back into the chaos!_**

Everything was insane- and happening at the same time. People were screaming and running away, whilst surprisingly some were attacking the invaders who'd hurt their new heroine, the nearly Mrs Malfoy. His parents were looking back and forth, unsure momentarily what to do now the plan had been driven off the rails. His friends were furiously racing at Potter. Bellatrix and Voldemort simultaneously unleashed a heart-jerking ** _"AVADA KEDAVRA"_** at the architect of the spell that had hurt their daughter, Percy Weasley. Draco collapsed with Hermione in his arms, shaking her desperately. Utterly lost at what to do. Someone tried to take her. He snapped at them like a savage dog, wrapping her safely in his arms. "Let her go," ordered Pansy from behind him. "Daphne's mother is a healer." It was Mrs Greenglass. A woman he'd known all his life, but in his need to protect the girl he loved, she'd just been another threat. Gingerly, he moved her into the medi-witch's lap so that she could use her wand to carry out an inspection.

"She's alive." It wasn't just a weight off his chest, it was the world.

"I'll fix that!" Came a hiss from a way off. Potter was being fought by all four of Draco's male friends, but somehow his rage was pulling him through and he was getting closer, his gaze fixed on Hermione. Seeing fire, Draco got steadily to his feet and pointed his wand at Potter. But Hermione wasn't dead, and he couldn't take this vengeance from her. He could certainly exact a little pain though. _"Sectumsempra!"_ He cast. Potter was so busy fighting Draco's friends that he didn't see the blond coming, but the millions of cuts didn't stop his rage. Curses flew back and forth between them, but Potter was advancing on, finally he was hit from behind with a " _stupefy"_ that had him collapsing. Draco was stunned to see that the one who'd finally taken him down was his mother, who he'd never seen practicing offensive magic, but she seemed just as angry as Hermione's parents; as if the wedding had happened and she really was Narcissa's daughter. Potter's supporters were still fighting tooth and nail, struggling to rescue him, but they were being thrown down one by one, leaving a bloody trail up the aisle.

As his mother maneuvered Potter into the manor he and his father watched her back to protect her from an onslaught of deadly-without-being-unforgivable curses. As soon as they were inside he left his parents to it and darted straight outside through the fire and flashing lights in the setting sun until he reached Hermione. She was lying on the floor now and as he approached he thought he saw her move. Hold on. Yes, her eyes were opening. Daphne's mother put a hand on her shoulders and whispered something, turning to face Draco when she heard his approach. "She'll be fine," she told him. "They simply made her unconscious, probably to kidnap and torture her later." The blunt words cut him like a knife, sending him visuals that he never wanted to imagine. Mrs Greenglass hurried away to her family and Draco helped a disoriented Hermione up and into the house.

"No," she resisted him, trying to fight her way back to the battle. "We need to continue with the plan."

"The plan went off the rails, light weight," he teased her. "Don't worry though, your parents have this under control, and mine have Potter." A malevolent grin crossed her features and she took his hand.

"Come on then! What are we waiting for?" They practically ran down the dangerous steps, their feet thundering. And in the cyclical motion of life, here they were again together in the dungeons facing Harry Potter, this time in chains. He blinked awake and Hermione looked like the Cheshire Cat as Lucius handed her her ex best friend's wand. _"Hello Harry."_

* * *

Harry knew that his plans had gone awry when he heard that cocky voice. He reached for his wand only to realise that his pockets were empty, and even if he'd had it he couldn't have reached for it. "Know you wouldn't be able to win in a fair fight Riddle?"

She frowned at him in disapproval. " _Granger,_ if you insist on being childish Harry. And none of you 'heroes' ever gave me a fair chance, did you? First Dumbledore and your parents decided that I was better off without my parents before I could ever voice my opinion on the matter. Then you two idiots decided that despite his indoctrination of me, I was still genetically slimy snake spawn."

"I know that Dumbledore tried everything he could!" Harry defended his mentor. "But even he couldn't save the scum created by the darkest wizard who ever lived and his pet death eater."

"My mother is no-one's pet," Riddle snapped. She looked just like them both like this. How could he ever have missed it? "And now neither am I."

"She's done doing your homework for you Potter," Malfoy sneered. Harry hadn't even realised he was there. He was the true pet, on a leash like a slobbering dog. "You'd never have gotten as far as you did without her. As proven by your current situation."

Harry ignored him, keeping focussed on the true centre of his anger. "You weren't a pet. We loved you! _He_ loved you!" Malfoy seemed a little put off by this, a tiny sign of insecurity, and Harry realised he was jealous of Ron. No harm in hurting them both rather than just her. "He would have married you, had kids with you, treated you right."

"Maybe he still would have if you'd given me a chance," Riddle squeezed her dog's hand. "I guess we'll never know. Your love for me evaporated as soon as you found out the truth right?" He nodded resolutely, although it hadn't. Yes, in the moment he'd been angry and confused but he'd doubted himself momentarily in the aftermath. That had been a mistake. He would stay steadfast now until the end.

"Finish me off then Riddle," he said bravely. A true Gryffindor. He knew that Dumble, his parents and Ron would all have been proud of him. "Earn your last badge on your way to becoming a senior Death Eater."

She smirked, without doing anything. He didn't mean to, but he let his face contort slightly with confusion. "There's a new anti-apparition charm on this building." That was nothing to be particularly proud of. Sure, it was the easiest way for him to be rescued, as he had been last time by Dobby, but his friends could get in or he could get out some other way. Her wand tip illuminated the floor around his cell. "Draco's mother has learnt a lot about magical herbs from gardening, and she set up this lovely, colourful line for you. If you cross over it you'll experience the effects of ageing in a few minute period and deteriorate in an agonising death that's enchanted to feel like it lasts for all of eternity." He gulped.

"I wouldn't count on your soldiers coming to save you either," considered Malfoy. "In fact, I'd put good money on the fact that every single one of them who came here tonight has been massacred by the outraged masses." He grinned. "I'm gonna go check that number. If I'm right, maybe I'll go withdraw some money from your vault to buy my girl something nice." He trotted away pleasantly, and Riddle looked as if she were about to follow, but she stopped herself on the bottom step and took a few careful deliberate steps back towards him.

She pulled out a second wand and he realised it was his own. Rather than filling him with yet more anger, he felt an uncomfortably heavy sense of dread and discomfort. _"Imperio."_ He'd resisted before, but he was weak. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was tired. He was lost. He was alone, and always would be. He was hopeless in every way. "Think about your actions," she said in a patronising tone that came across as horrendously dreamy and beautiful to his peaceful mind. "Think about how different things could have been if you'd given me a chance." Then she was gone and his only company was an impossible alternate reality where Ron was alive and had happy ginger children with Hermione, where Ginny was alive, vivacious and finally agreed to settle down and name their child Albus, or Lily, or James.


	22. Epilogue

**_Epilogue:_**

 _ **AN: FINALEEE! Thank you so much for every review, favourite and follow, I love you guys! Please do leave one last review even if you haven't before, and if you want to check out my other stories (maybe the one I'm currently posting ;)) please do.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

A count up of the bodies revealed that he'd been right, so Draco did take out a small fortune from Potter's vault- not like he or any of his never-existing descendants would ever need it. But he didn't spend it on Hermione. Not directly at least. He had a feeling she wouldn't want that. Instead he used it to commission a building. He ordered his employees to work hard on it until it was completed, and in the meantime he took her and his friends on that tour they'd spoken of when it felt like they'd been children. They were all disappointed that the wedding wasn't real, and it seemed like in some ways she was as well. One night in Crete once Daphne and Theo had disappeared to their bedroom, closely followed by the legitimately soon to be married Pansy and Marcus, who'd been invited on her account, Blaise and a Greek girl he'd picked up with an Italian line that was close enough to a Greek one to make her chuckle, and Greg and Vince had collapsed on the sun loungers by the pool, the two of them sat alone, dangling their feet into the water and listening to the crash of the waves a little way off.

"Harry's never been patient. He couldn't wait until the objections part, so we never got to finish our vows," she reminded him, accompanying the comment with a pointed look. He rolled his eyes. But he'd always do anything for her.

"Granger: an insufferable, dirty mudblood swot."

"Hey!" She whacked his arm, seemingly genuinely distressed. "This better be going somewhere good!"

He just shushed her. "That's what I used to repeat to myself whenever I saw her. Thanks to my friend Pansy, I've realised that was probably because I was trying to cover up the whole crush on said disgusting lump thing. Mostly." Another whack, but this time it was accompanied by a broad smile as she shook her head. "The truth is that she's incredibly intelligent, confident in herself no matter what other arseholes like me or her ex-friends think, compassionate to a level that makes me worried she'll free every house elf in my family's employ," her hearty guffaw made his own heart sing. "And so beautiful I can't believe it took so long for me to work it out."

She rolled her eyes. "That was laying it on a little thick. I'm not beautiful by any definition of the word."

"Every line of my vows were true to my feelings," he admitted, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before clearing his throat and looking away. "Your turn."

He could feel her eyes still on him, sending the hairs on his back prickling upwards, but after a few moments she recited her own practised words. "Love is a word that I never really knew the meaning of, though Draco will tell you before anyone else that there's few things I've ever admitted to not knowing. My adoptive parents were never a romantic couple. I know they loved me, but I sometimes wonder if they knew who I really was. If they would have stayed steadfast if they did. My friends didn't. And I was sure that we had one of the tightest knit, unbreakable bonds I'd ever experienced." He squeezed her hand in solidarity and she smiled, but continued. "My only real relationship was with an international Quidditch player, but it didn't go any deeper than dancing and making plans that never came to anything. I never would have expected Draco to be the someone I went further than that with. The someone I could make plans to fulfil with. The someone who'd show me what love really is." She'd been looking out at the sea, but now she turned to him, clearly veering off. "Love isn't about the physical. Snogging and... y'know," she blushed, speech abandoned. "Is all well and good, but relationships that last have to be built on something more. I thought that because I never saw my parents kiss they didn't love each other, but we've never kissed and I know that I," his heart leapt traitorously. He'd told himself, and their parents, she could never feel for him. He'd known it. It was impossible. "I love you."

"Salazar..." he cursed, cutting away from her captivating cinnamon eyes to try and cool himself down. Fate was a cruel mistress. "I want to kiss you more than I ever have before."

"Then do it."

 **What**. He didn't realise he said it aloud until she repeated herself.

"Hermione, you know what that means!

"Yes."

"That's not what you want."

"That wasn't what I _wanted_ ," she corrected him. "Now, however, I want _you_. I will always want you."

He shook his head. "I'm not going to lock you into th-"

"Then I'll lock _you_ into it," she asserted, wrapped her arms around his neck and connected their lips before he could stop her. And once she was there he knew he could never stop her. This wasn't like the innocent first kiss he'd expected from her. Their relationship had been too drawn out for that kind of patience. Their tongues danced perfectly together as if they had never been meant to interact with any other. Their arms wound around each other's bodies, their legs splashing water onto the skin that had just dried out from their earlier swim. Her hands tangled in his hair to pull him into her. They got closer and closer until they were morphing together into one body, desperate and long suffering but finally slotting together and unwilling to let anything or anyone part them. His heart jolted, but he was so close he could hear hers skipping as well. He wasn't exactly sure how this contract worked, if a circle of firey light exploded from them and wrapped them in a circle, but it certainly felt that magical a moment. They kept going until they couldn't breathe anymore and were forced to part, both thankful that they hadn't had this first kiss at a wedding in front of their parents. Or in front of anyone. This was a private moment only for the two of them.

* * *

For the rest of their group holiday Draco and Hermione stuck closer together than ever before in a love bubble that had Blaise bemoaning the loss of his Greek girl. He found another in Spain though. Their friends worked out the change in them pretty quickly, despite being wrapped up in their own various love affairs. They still found time to tease them about it. When they got back home Hermione set to work on some legislation to present before her father on the rights of house elves for her new job heading the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Draco hadn't been entirely wrong in his vows, but she wasn't going to free them entirely. She knew now that a lot of the little creatures lived to work and serve, and as someone who loved working hard herself, she somewhat understood that. She still believed they should have breaks and comfortable quarters though. It seemed that a lot of people at the Ministry still came up to her with their hefty apologies for having ever been involved with Harry, or just sympathies for her widespread story. She always thanked them, but found herself longing for another holiday quite quickly, somewhere her name wasn't so linked to pain and tragedy.

After Christmas with their families she got her wish. "I'm taking you on a getaway for your present," Draco informed her on Boxing Day.

Once the bank holiday was over she had testimony to listen to from a witch who claimed her garden had been infested by gnomes, and a whole pile of papers on her desk about a blood eating Kappa that had been illegally brought back from a business trip to Japan and escaped, unleashing havoc on a pub full of slow moving drunk wizards, but a romantic trip with her boyfriend sounded much more appealing. "Just let me send a quick owl to my assistant..."

"Already done," his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were up to something Mr Malfoy."

He shrugged, held out his arm for her to take and they side along apparated to their destination. The air was thick and humid, and in her fluffy jumper and thick trousers she was absolutely sweltering. Laughing, Draco magicked her clothes into a floral summer dress and his own into a t-shirt and shorts. She'd never seen him in anything so casual, and it was at once unnerving and a turn on. But what really had her attention was their surroundings. They were amongst mountains and rivers that flowed into waterfalls, but they stood on a huge grassy area, looking up at a turreted modern wood and glass building that would probably serve to cool them down just as Hogwarts had frozen them. "Draco this property is gorgeous," she told him, her brow furrowing. "Truly. We have to send Harry a postcard. But it's huge. As large as Hogwarts, I'd say."

"That's good," he said, surveying it with a critical eye. "Because we're going to need to fit a lot of kids in here." For a moment she thought he was suggesting they start procreating like rabbits, then an assembled line of adults filed out of the doors towards them. Without needing to say anything, her look conveyed the clear message: what the hell is going on? "I know you like fighting for creatures' rights," he explained at long last. "But who are we kidding? You love learning more than anything, and inspiring others to, so if you want the job, I think we could be great co-headteachers, giving you time to teach as well if you'd like. This is the Great Dividing Range in Australia, a country where the closest Wizarding school is in Japan, and is highly over-populated." Her hand went over her mouth in shock at what he'd done. "Also a country where your muggle parents happen to have been sent." How had he known that she'd been thinking of them so much lately? "I know you have Bella and Voldemort, but the Grangers were your parents for nearly eighteen years and now it's safe for them to get their memories back. Besides, you can never have too much love, right?"

She grinned as she shook her head in disbelief, pulling him in for a thankful kiss. "You sure can't."

"You don't have to do this," he clarified. "There's no pressure. We have another option for headmistress if-"

"Sometimes you talk too much Draco," Hermione chastised, silencing his lips once more. "Right then," she declared once she was finished, hands on hips. "Let's get to work."

And get to work they did. There were acceptance letters with supply lists to send out; school houses to decide on- they chose Australian creatures in the snake-like Wagyl, the Dirawong that had supposedly been locked in an eternal battle with it, the timid Yowie and the trickster Crow. They also had to assign heads of houses, which the teachers jostled for excitably. There was less to do than she might have imagined, which was all because of Draco. He'd clearly been working on this for a while. Teachers and other staff had all been hired. Syllabuses had been drawn up. Classrooms were fully decorated, stocked and designed. Dorm rooms were similarly prepared and every common room showed vibrant school spirit and fit the traits of that house perfectly, just like they did back at Hogwarts. They worked right up until the train delivering their raring to go students arrived on the fifth of February, but they were ready to go too. Curled into Draco's arm they watched the approach of the black wide-rimmed hats out of their office window, remembering the rare occasions they'd worn their own pointed ones. It was the beginning of a whole new adventure, not just for the excited children, but for the new graduates as well.


End file.
